Continued rise in wholesale and import prices in October

Wholesale prices rose by 0.7 per cent from September to October. The rise was attributable to oil products and agricultural and forestry products. This information can be gathered from the Wholesale Price Index of Statistics Finland.

In the year to October wholesale prices have risen by over one per cent. The price of energy minerals has increased most, by close on 40 per cent, whereas that of oil products increased by 21 per cent. The sharpest fall in one year occurred in the prices of pulp, paper and paper products and in those of non-ferrous metals - by about 20 per cent.

Import prices rose by 0.6 per cent from September to October. This was explained by the higher prices of crude oil, oil products and machinery and equipment. In the year to October import prices have risen by 3.3 per cent, which was due to the price rises in crude oil, machinery and equipment, oil products and transport equipment.

Export prices rose by 0.3 per cent from September to October. The rise was accounted for by the increased prices of wood and oil products. The fall in export prices has continued uninterrupted from April to September. In the year to October export prices have fallen by 3.7 per cent, which was largely due to the cheaper prices of pulp, paper and paperboard as well as base metals.

The HWWA index, which measures the dollar prices of raw materials on the world market, also continued to rise - up by 3.7 per cent from September to October. The rise was, as in the previous month, attributable to the higher prices of energy raw materials. In the year to October the HWWA index was up by 20 per cent.

Table

Source: Producer Price Indices, October 1996
Further information: Jarmo Ranki +358 9 1734 3472,
Anne Forss +358 9 1734 3469