19 January 1996
Import and wholesale prices rose in January
Import prices rose by 0.8 per cent from December to January. Almost two thirds of the rise was attributable to the higher prices of different raw materials and output commodities and one fourth to the increased prices of consumer goods. Raw materials and output commodities were up by 0.9 per cent, consumer goods by 0.7 per cent and investment goods by 0.6 per cent. This appears from the Import Price Index of Statistics Finland.The year-on-year change of the producer price index took an upward turn in January - in the year to January import prices rose by 0.5 per cent. The last time the year-on-year change was positive was in May 1995.
Wholesale prices rose by 0.7 per cent from December to January. The prices of both domestic and import goods rose by 0.7 per cent. The year-on-year change of the wholesale index changed from negative to positive as well - wholesale prices rose by 0.6 per cent in one year.
The HWWA index, which measures the dollar prices of raw materials on the world market, fell by 1.7 per cent from December to January, whereas in the year to January it rose by 1.2 per cent.
Source: Producer Price Indices, January 1996
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