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Published: 9 March 2016

Energy prices continued to fall in the last quarter

According to Statistics Finland's data, prices of energy products went down in the last quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. For consumers, the most significant drop in prices occurred for liquid fuels. Of fuels used in heat production, prices of all but natural coal went down, as its tax was raised at the beginning of 2015. However, prices have fallen most in the Nordic electricity exchange, where the price of electricity was 41 per cent lower than one year earlier.

Fuel Prices in Heat Production

As a result of the fallen world market price of oil, the prices of oil products imported to Finland continued declining in the last quarter. This also had an effect on the consumer prices of liquid fuels. The price of motor petrol fell by five per cent in December from one year before. The corresponding drop for diesel oil amounted to 11 per cent and for light fuel oil to 23 per cent.

The tax of hard coal used in heat production was raised at the beginning of 2015, as a result of which the price was, on average, six per cent higher in the fourth quarter than one year earlier. The tax on natural gas was also raised, but its price has fallen along with the price of oil. In the fourth quarter, the price of natural gas went down by 11 per cent from one year back. The tax of milled peat was lowered at the beginning of last year, as a consequence of which its price in the last quarter was eight per cent lower than one year before. The price of forest chips went down by two per cent.

The monthly average for the system price of the Nordic electricity exchange derived from the sell and buy bids on the exchange was in December EUR 18.85 per megawatt hour, which was 41 per cent lower than a year earlier. Due to electricity transmission restrictions, the Finnish area price was 41 per cent higher in December than the system price, that is, EUR 26.56 per megawatt hour, though falling by 29 per cent from one year ago.

The fallen prices in the electricity exchange were most clearly visible in the prices of enterprise and corporate customers, among whom the price in the last quarter was, on average, three per cent lower for small consumers and eight per cent lower for big consumers. The prices of household customers remained on level with the year before, due to a hike in electricity taxes at the beginning of 2015.

Source: Statistics Finland, Energy prices

Inquiries: Ville Maljanen 029 551 2691, energia@stat.fi

Director in charge: Ville Vertanen

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Energy taxes, precautionary stock fees and oil pollution fees (9.3.2016)
• Appendix table 2. Energy prices in heat production in December 2015 (9.3.2016)
• Appendix table 3. Consumer prices of heating energy in December 2015 (9.3.2016)

Figures

• Appendix figure 1. Import prices of oil (9.3.2016)
• Appendix figure 2. Consumer prices of principal oil products (9.3.2016)
• Appendix figure 3. Fuel prices in heat production (9.3.2016)
• Appendix figure 4. Fuel prices in electricity production (9.3.2016)
• Appendix figure 5. Price of electricity by type of consumer (9.3.2016)
• Appendix figure 6. Average monthly spotprices at the Nord Pool Spot power exchange (9.3.2016)

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Updated 09.03.2015