18 May, 1999
Inquiries: Mr Jarmo Ranki +358 9 1734 3472, Ms Sonja
Karell +358 9 1734 3469
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Import prices rose by 1.5 per cent in April
According to Statistics Finland, import prices rose by 1.5 per cent from March to April. The rise was due to higher world market prices of crude oil and oil products.
In April, import prices were 3.8 per cent lower than a year before. The prices of electrical equipment, raw materials and output commodities, in particular, went down from last year's April. However, the rapidly rising oil price has decelerated the rate at which import prices have fallen which, having been 6 per cent in February, was still 4.8 per cent in March.
From March to April, export prices rose by 0.8 per cent and producer prices for manufactured goods, in other words producer prices for goods intended for the domestic market, by 0.6 per cent. The rise was due to higher prices of oil products, colour metals and pulp.
From last year's April, export prices fell by 5.4 per cent. The fall was mainly attributable to reductions in the prices of base metals, electrical equipment, pulp, paper and paper products. Nevertheless, the speed at which export prices fell slowed down in April, having been 7 per cent in March.
Producer prices for manufactured goods fell by 3.1 per cent in the year to April, as the prices of base metals, electricity, chemicals and pulp went down.
The HWWA Index, used to measure the dollar-based world market prices of raw materials, rose by 9 per cent from March to April. The rise was due to a 20 per cent increase in the price of crude oil. From February to April, the price of crude oil has gone up by 46 per cent. From last year's April, the HWWA Index has fallen by 1.6 per cent. The overall index excluding energy has, however, fallen by 14 per cent.
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| Producer price indices 1995=100 and their monthly and annual changes in April 1999, % | |||
| Indices | Point Figure 4/1999 | Change 3/99 - 4/99, % | Change 4/98 - 4/99, % |
| Producer price index for manufactured goods | 96.6 | 0.6 | -3.1 |
| Export price index | 93.5 | 0.8 | -5.4 |
| Import price index | 95.6 | 1.5 | -3.8 |
| Basic price index for domestic supply | 97.7 | 0.7 | -2.4 |
| Wholesale price index | 98.1 | 0.6 | -2.3 |
Source: Producer Price Indices 1999, April. Statistics Finland