19 November 2001
Inquiries: Mr Jari Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3472, Ms
Christina Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3469,
thi.tilastokeskus@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Lehtinen
Producer prices fell in October
According to Statistics Finland, import prices went down by 0.5 to 2.9 per cent from September to October. Compared to last year's October, the fall of producer prices was even faster, down by 1.6 to 8.9 per cent.
Import prices went down by 8.9 per cent from last year's October. The fall was mainly due to considerably lower prices of crude oil, base metals and oil products. Import prices fell by 2.9 per cent from September, which is mostly attributable to lower prices of crude oil and plastic materials.
Export prices fell by 5.4 per cent from October 2000. The fall was primarily caused by lower prices of oil products, base metals, pulp and electrical products. From September to October, export prices went down by 1.1 per cent, which was mainly due to lower prices of oil products, paper and paperboard, chemicals and chemical products.
The producer prices for manufactured products, that is, prices for goods intended for the domestic market fell by 1.6 per cent from October 2000. The fall was mainly caused by reduced prices of raw materials and output commodities. Despite the fall of the overall index, prices of energy products, investment goods and consumer goods rose from the year before. From September to October, the producer prices for manufactured products decreased by 0.5 per cent.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in October 2001, % (1995=100) |
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|
Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured products |
106.1 |
-0.5 |
-1.6 |
|
Export price index |
97.8 |
-1.1 |
-5.4 |
|
Import price index |
104.6 |
-2.9 |
-8.9 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
106.7 |
-1.0 |
-3.3 |
|
Wholesale price index |
106.7 |
-1.2 |
-3.5 |
Producer price indices measure the development of commodity prices from enterprises' viewpoint. The basic price index for domestic supply measures the development of prices exclusive of tax of goods used in Finland as they enter the market. The wholesale price index describes the change in the purchase prices of goods used in Finland inclusive of tax. Both these indices contain domestic and imported goods.
The HWWA Index, used to measure the dollar-based world market prices of raw materials, went down by 25.7 per cent from October 2000. All the sub-indices of the HWWA Index fell from one year previously. Prices of energy raw materials and non-ferrous metals declined most.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, October. Statistics Finland