Export prices up 7 per cent between 1994-1995

Export prices rose by 7 per cent from 1994 to 1995 when comparing averages for the whole year. The rise was due to higher prices of paper and paperboard, pulp and base metals. One year earlier export prices rose by 1.5 per cent. This appears from the Export Price Index of Statistics Finland.

From 1994 to 1995 the export prices of paper and paperboard rose by 18 per cent, those of pulp by 46 and those of base metals by 10 per cent. The rise in the prices of paper, paperboard and pulp was the highest in twenty years.

Import prices fell by 0.1 per cent from 1994 to 1995. The prices of investment goods fell by close on five per cent and those of consumer goods by over one per cent, whereas the import prices of raw materials and output commodities rose by a good two per cent. A year earlier import prices fell by 0.2 per cent.

Calculated using the export and import price indices the terms of trade strengthened by 7.1 per cent from 1994 to 1995. From 1993 to 1994 the terms of trade strengthened by 1.7 per cent.

Changes in producer price indices from November to December
and in the year to December 1995, and from 1994 to 1995

Wholesale prices were up by 0.2 per cent from 1994 to 1995. The wholesale prices of domestic goods rose, whereas those of import goods fell. A year earlier wholesale prices rose by 1.6 per cent.

From November to December export prices were up by 0.3 per cent and producer prices for manufactured goods, import prices and wholesale prices by 0.1-0.2 per cent.

The HWWA index, which measures the dollar prices of raw materials on the world market, rose by 10 per cent from 1994 to 1995. From November to December, the HWWA index rose by 2.9 per cent.

Source: Producer Price Indices, December 1995
Further information: Jarmo Ranki, tel. +358 0 1734 3472, or
Anne Forss, tel. +358 0 1734 3469