18 June 2002
Inquiries: Mr Jari Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3472, Ms
Christina Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3469
Director in charge: Mr Kari Molnar
Export prices fell in May
According to Statistics Finland, producer price indices went down by 1.6 to 5.4 per cent from last year's May to this year's May. Export prices declined most, by 5.4 per cent. The fall of export prices was chiefly due to lower prices of paper and paperboard, oil products, pulp and electrical products.
Import prices decreased by 4.0 per cent from May 2001. This was mainly attributable to the 13.6 per cent fall in prices of energy minerals and to the 10.6 per cent decrease in prices of chemicals and chemical products.
Producer prices for manufactured products, that is, prices for goods intended for the domestic market fell by 1.6 per cent from May last year. The fall was mainly caused by lower prices of pulp, oil products and electrical products. The decline of the index was curbed by higher prices of electricity.
Export prices fell by 0.4 per cent from April
Export prices went down by 0.4 per cent from April to May. The fall was primarily due to lower prices of electrical products, paper and paperboard, and agricultural and forestry products. Export prices fell last on the monthly level in December 2001.
Import prices rose by 0.5 per cent from April to May. The rise was caused by higher prices of crude oil and oil products. Import prices have risen on the monthly level for six consecutive months.
Producer prices for manufactured products fell by 0.4 per cent from April. The fall was especially due to that prices of electricity decreased by 0.7 per cent and prices of electrical products by 3.2 per cent.
Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in May 2002
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|
Indices (1995=100) |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured products |
105.9 |
-0.4 |
-1.6 |
|
Export price index |
97.1 |
-0.4 |
-5.4 |
|
Import price index |
105.8 |
0.5 |
-4.0 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
106.9 |
0.0 |
-1.9 |
|
Wholesale price index |
107.0 |
-0.1 |
-1.8 |
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.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2002, May. Statistics Finland