18 March, 1999
Inquiries: Mr Jarmo Ranki +358 9 1734 3472, Ms Sonja
Karell +358 9 1734 3469
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Import prices up in February
According to Statistics Finland, import priceswent up by 0.3 per cent from January to February. Prior to this, import prices had fallen uninterruptedly for almost a year, since they went last up in April 1998.
From January to February, the increase in import prices was attributable to higher prices of oil products, colour metals and chemicals. At the same time, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Finnish markka by three and a half per cent.
From February 1998, import prices were down by 6.0 per cent. The world market prices of minerals, base metals and oil products have gone down fast in a year, and the prices of electrical equipment have also dropped clearly. However, the rate of decrease in import prices has slowed down, since in December 1998, import prices fell annually by 7.4 per cent.
Export prices went down by 0.4 per cent from January to February and by 7.5 per cent from last year's February. Both the monthly and annual decrease was due to the lower prices of electrical equipment, raw materials and output commodities. The rate of decrease accelerated slightly, since export prices were down by 7.0 per cent in January.
Producer prices for manufactured goods, or producer prices for goods intended for the domestic market, fell by 0.2 per cent from January to February because of lower prices of raw materials and output commodities. In the year to February, producer prices went down by 4.1 per cent. This was due to lower prices of energy, raw materials and output commodities.
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| Monthly and annual changes in producer price indices, February 1999, % | ||
| Indices | 1/99 - 2/99 | 2/98 - 2/99 |
| Producer price index for manufactured goods | -0.2 | -4.1 |
| Export price index | -0.4 | -7.5 |
| Import price index | 0.3 | -6.0 |
| Basic price index for domestic supply | -0.2 | -3.6 |
| Wholesale price index | -0.2 | -3.4 |
Source: Producer Price Indices 1999, February. Statistics Finland