16 December 1996
Inflation remains subdued
Consumer prices rose by 0.7 per cent in the year to November. From October to November, in contrast, they fell by 0.3 per cent. This information can be gathered from the Consumer Price Index of Statistics Finland.Price changes by commodity group 11/1995 - 11/1996, %
Of the various commodity groups, the highest rise over the year occurred in beverages and tobacco, up by 2.8 per cent and in health care, up by 2.0 per cent. The increase in the costs of health care was accounted for primarily by the price of medicines. Higher lottery costs, in turn, pushed up prices in education and recreation. Food was 0.5 per cent cheaper than a year ago, mainly attributable to the lower prices of coffee and beef.
From October to November consumer prices fell by 0.3 per cent. This was explained above all by interest rate cuts and price falls in package tours, second-hand cars and light fuel oil. The price of food was down by 0.3 per cent from October to November, which was due to the slight fall in the prices of fruit, vegetables and coffee.
The above rises and falls do not necessarily have much effect on the monthly change
in the CPI, although the price changes as such are substantial.
Finland's inflation the second lowest in the EU
In October the year-on-year change in the interim harmonised consumer price index of the EU was 1.3 per cent in Finland. This was the second lowest in the EU countries, the lowest being that of Sweden, at 0.3 per cent. The average change was 2.4 per cent in October.
In October the point figure of the Bank of Finland's indicator of underlying inflation was 111.7 and the year-on-year change 0.3 per cent. The change on one month was 0.2 per cent.
Source: Consumer Price Index, November 1996
Further information: Arja Kinnunen, tel. +358 9 1734 3479, or
Juhani Pekkarinen +358 9 1734 3476