15 April, 1998
Inquiries: Ms Arja Kinnunen +358 9 1734 3479, Mr
Juhani Pekkarinen +358 9 1734 3476
Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU: Ms Mari Ylä-Jarkko +358
9 1734 3310
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Year-on-year increase in consumer prices 1.8 per cent in March
According to Statistics Finland's Consumer Price Index, inflation, or the year-on-year increase in consumer prices, was 1.8 per cent in March. In the February to March period, prices went up by 0.2 per cent.
Housing, food and transport pushed price level up most
Price increases in the Consumer Price Index commodity groups of housing, food and transport pushed inflation up most. Housing prices went up by 3.0 per cent in the year, pushing the price level up by almost 0.7 percentage points. The 2.9 per cent increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages pushed the consumer price level up by good 0.4 percentage points. The 2.2 per cent year-on-year increase in transport costs was primarily due to higher prices of used cars, public transport and petrol. In all, higher transport costs accounted for 0.3 percentage points of the inflation. Consumer price increases were curbed most by lower prices of clothing, footwear and light fuel oil, and the fact that housing loan interest rates remained below last year's level.
In the February to March period consumer prices went up by 0.2 per cent. The main reason for this was that the winter clothing sales ended.
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| Inflation indicators in Finland | |||
| Point figure | Change on one year | Change on one month | |
| Consumer Price Index (1995=100), March | 102.9 | 1.8% | 0.2% |
| Cost of Living Index (1951:10=100), March | 1 429 | ||
| Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU (1996=100), March | 102.1 | 1.6% | 0.2% |
| Indicator of Underlying Inflation (1995=100), February | 101.6 | 1.2% | 0.0% |
Each mid-month, Statistics Finland interviewers collect over 50 000 prices from approximately 2 000 outlets for the Consumer Price Index. In addition, some 600 items of price data are gathered by centralised collection.
Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU: lowest inflation in France in February
According to the Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU, the lowest inflation rate, 0.7 per cent, was recorded in France in February. The corresponding figure for Finland was 1.7 per cent, and the EU average 1.4 per cent. In March, the Finnish point figure on the Harmonised Consumer Price Index (1996=100) was 102.1. From February to March the index rose by 0.2 per cent.
Underlying inflation 1.2 per cent in February
In February, the point figure of the revised underlying inflation indicator (1995=100) was 101.6 and the year-on-year change 1.2 per cent.
Source: Consumer Price Index, March, 1998. Statistics Finland