Export prices up by 0.6 per cent in April

Export prices rose by 0.6 per cent from March to April, the rise being attributable mainly to more expensive base metals, paper and paperboard as well as machinery and equipment. In the year to April, in contrast, they have fallen by 5.1 per cent. This information can be gathered from the Export Price Index of Statistics Finland.

Import prices fell by 0.3 per cent from March to April. This was caused by cheaper crude oil, base chemicals and oil products. In the year to April import prices have fallen by 1.2 per cent.

Wholesale prices fell by 0.2 per cent from March to April. In the year to April wholesale prices have risen by 0.7 per cent. The wholesale prices of domestic goods have risen by 1.3 per cent from April of last year, whereas those of imported goods have fallen by 0.6 per cent.

The HWWA index, which measures the dollar prices of raw materials on the world market, fell by 4.1 per cent from March to April. The fall was due in particular to the lower prices of energy raw materials. The year-on-year change of the index also turned negative in April. In the year to April the HWWA index was down by 7.9 per cent, while in January there was still a rise of 15 per cent.

Source: Producer Price Indices, April 1997
Further information: Jarmo Ranki, tel. +358 9 1734 3472, or Anne Forss, tel. +358 9 1734 3469