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Description

In addition to their national consumer price indices, the Member States of the European Union also produce a harmonised index of consumer prices, from which Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, calculates the European index of consumer prices and the monetary union index of consumer prices. Calculation of the harmonised index of consumer prices is guided by EU regulations. The main purpose for which the harmonised index of consumer prices is used is inflation comparison between the EU countries. The European Central Bank uses the harmonised index of consumer prices as the measure of inflation in its monetary policy. The Finnish harmonised index of consumer prices is mainly based on the same price data and national accounts data as the Finnish national consumer price index. However, the scope and commodity selection of the harmonised index of consumer prices is different, which is why its development deviates from that of the national consumer price index.

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