16 November, 1998
Inquiries: Ms Arja Kinnunen + 358 9 1734 3479, Ms
Mari Suviranta + 358 9 1734 3501
Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU: Ms Mari Suviranta +358 9
1734 3501
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Inflation stood at 1.1 per cent in October
According to Statistics Finland's Consumer Price Index, consumer prices went up by 1.1 per cent in the year to October. Inflation slowed down, for it was 1.3 per cent in September. From September to October, prices remained unchanged.
Higher housing and package tour prices pushed price level up most over the year
Prices of housing, heat and light went up by 2.2 per cent in the year, pushing the price level up by 0.5 percentage points. Higher dwelling prices accounted for 0.3 percentage points and higher rents for 0.2 percentage points of this total.
Although fresh and root vegetables were 11 per cent more expensive than a year ago, food prices remained, on average, at last year's level. The fallen price of coffee is a major factor in this, for the price of coffee has gone down by 28 per cent in the year.
Prices of package tours went up by 9.5 per cent in the year. The upward effect of this on the price level was 0.2 percentage points.
In the September to October period, consumer prices remained unchanged. Prices of dwellings rose by 2.7 per cent in the third quarter of this year. Housing loan interest rates went down, as also did the price of electricity. Additionally, there were increases in the prices of package tours and local telephone calls, but these were offset by lower prices of, among other things, petrol and tangerine oranges.
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| Inflation indicators in Finland | |||
| Point figure | Change on one year | Change on one month | |
| Consumer Price Index (1995=100), October | 103.7 | 1.1% | 0.0% |
| Cost of Living Index (1951:10=100), October | 1 441 | ||
| Harmonised Consumer Price Index of the EU (1996=100), October | 103.0 | 1.1% | -0.1% |
| Indicator of Underlying Inflation (1995=100), September | 102.6 | 1.0% | 0.2% |
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.
Slowest September inflation rate in the EU in Sweden
According to the Harmonised Consumer Price Index, the fastest September inflation rate of 5.0 per cent was recorded in Greece, while the slowest rate was recorded in Sweden, where prices fell by 0.1 per cent in the year. The corresponding figure for Finland was 1.4 per cent. The averages for the EU and the EMU member countries were 1.2 and 1.0 per cent, respectively.
In October, the Finnish point figure on the Harmonised Consumer Price Index (1996=199) stood at 103.0 and the year-on-year change at 1.1 per cent. From September to October, the index went down by 0.1 per cent. The deviation from the national index was mainly due to the different way of measuring owner-occupied housing.
Source: Consumer Price Index 1998, October. Statistics Finland.