18 June 1996
Producer prices down in May
All producer price indices of Statistics Finland fell by 0.3-0.5 per cent from April to May. The fall was primarily accounted for by the lower prices of different raw materials and output commodities. The fall was sharpest in export prices at 0.5 per cent and it was attributable to cheaper pulp, paper and paperboard, wood products and means of transportation. The 0.4 per cent fall in import prices was caused by the lower price of crude oil.Export prices rose by 2.5 per cent in the year to May, whereas from December 1995 they fell by one per cent. Of all export prices, the prices of pulp fell the most - down by 45 per cent. The biggest increase on one year occurred in furskins, up by 44 per cent. The export prices of paper and paperboard have risen by 11 per cent over a year, those of machinery and equipment by 2 per cent.
In the year to May import prices rose by 1.3 per cent, while at the beginning of the period they still fell. From December 1995 imports were up by 3 per cent.
The HWWA index, which measures the dollar prices of raw materials on the world market, fell by 4.3 per cent from April to May. The fall was due both to the lower prices of energy raw materials and raw materials from agriculture and forestry. In the year to May the HWWA index fell by 0.5 per cent.
Changes in producer price indices from April to
May
and in the year to May 1996, %
Source: Producer Price Indices, May 1996
Further information: Jarmo Ranki, tel. +358 0 1734 3472, or Anne
Forss,
tel. +358 0 1734 3469