18 August, 1999
Inquiries: Mr Jarmo Ranki +358 9 1734 3472, Ms Sonja
Karell +358 9 1734 3469
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Rise in producer prices continued through July
According to Statistics Finland, producer price indices rose by 0.9 to 1.2 per cent from June to July. The biggest increase of 1.2 per cent occurred in import prices, due to higher world market prices of crude oil and basic metals.
Import prices at the annual level also turned upwards and increased by 0.6 per cent in the year to July. Only January this year import prices were still falling by 6.7 per cent compared to the previous January. The increase in July was due to a rapid rise in the world market price of crude oil. In contrast, the import prices of raw materials and output commodities remained 3.3 per cent, and those of investment goods 1.1 per cent, lower than they were twelve months ago.
Export prices rose by 1.1 per cent from June to July, due to increases in the prices of basic metals, oil products, and pulp and paper. Nevertheless, export prices were still 4.8 per cent lower than they were last July, thanks to reductions in the prices of electrical products, iron and steel metals, paper and board.
Producer prices for manufactured goods, or producer prices for goods intended for the domestic market, rose by 0.9 per cent from June to July, due to increases in the prices of oil products, basic metals and pulp. In the year to July, producer prices for manufactured goods fell by 1.2 per cent, as the prices of electricity, iron and steel metals, foodstuffs and chemicals went down.
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Producer price indices 1995=100 and their monthly and annual changes in July 1999, % |
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Indices |
Point figure 7/1999 |
Change 6/99 - 7/99, % |
Change 7/98 -7/99, % |
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Producer price index for manufactured goods |
98.1 |
0.9 |
-1.2 |
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Export price index |
93.7 |
1.1 |
-4.8 |
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Import price index |
97.9 |
1.2 |
0.6 |
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Basic price index for domestic supply |
99.2 |
0.9 |
-0.3 |
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Wholesale price index |
99.6 |
1.0 |
-0.2 |
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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 7.3 per cent from June to July. From last year's July, the index has risen by 15.7 per cent. Both at the monthly and annual level, the rise was due to the higher price of crude oil.
Source: Producer Price Indices 1999, July. Statistics Finland