18 November, 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 by 6 per cent in the year
According to Statistics Finland, import prices rose by six per cent in the year to October. This was primarily due to higher world market price of crude oil, but also to increases in the prices of oil products and colour metals. In January this year, import prices still fell by almost seven per cent on the annual level. From September to October, import prices went up by 0.1 per cent. This increase was caused by higher prices of oil products and basic chemicals.
Export prices fell by 2.4 per cent in the year to October, primarily due to falls in the prices of electrical equipment, but also because of lower prices of iron and steel metals. In this year's January, export prices still fell by seven per cent on the annual level. From September to October, export prices went up by 0.7 per cent. This was due to higher prices of pulp, paper and paper products, and basic chemicals.
Producer prices for manufactured goods, or producer prices for goods intended for the domestic market, rose by 1.3 per cent from last year's October. This was caused by increases in the prices of oil products and pulp. From September to October, producer prices for manufactured goods went up by 0.2 per cent, due to higher prices of basic chemicals and pulp.
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Producer price indices 1995=100 and their monthly and annual changes in October 1999, % |
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Indices |
Point figure 10/1999 |
Change 9/99 - 10/99, % |
Change 10/98 - 10/99, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured goods |
99.1 |
0.2 |
1.3 |
|
Export price index |
93.7 |
0.7 |
-2.4 |
|
Import price index |
100.4 |
0.1 |
6.0 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
100.7 |
0.3 |
2.4 |
|
Wholesale price index |
100.8 |
0.2 |
2.1 |
Producer price indices measure the development of commodity prices from enterprises' viewpoint. The basic price index for domestic supply measures the price development of goods used in Finland as they enter the market, i.e. purchase prices exclusive of tax. The wholesale price index measures the change in the purchase prices of goods used in Finland inclusive of tax. Both these indices contain domestic and imported goods.
The HWWA Index, used to measure the dollar-based world market prices of raw materials, rose by 29.4 per cent from last year's October, principally because of higher price of crude oil. From September to October, the HWWA index went down by 1.9 per cent.
Source: Producer Price Indices 1999, October. Statistics Finland