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Published: 14 April 2020

Inflation 0.6 per cent in March

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by Statistics Finland was 0.6 per cent in March. In February, inflation stood at 0.8 per cent. The slight decline in inflation was caused by lower prices of fuels for personal transport equipment and light fuel oil, for example.

Inflation indicators in Finland, March 2020

  Point figure Annual change (%) Monthly change (%)
Consumer Price Index 2015=100 103.5 0.6 -0.2
Cost-of-living Index 1951:10=100 1973    
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices 2015=100 104.0 0.9 -0.2
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes 2015=100 103.1 0.7 -0.2

Consumer prices were raised most in March by increases in the prices of cigarettes, refundable prescription medicines, fruits, vegetables and wireless telephone services from one year ago. The rising of consumer prices from one year back was curbed most by reductions in the prices of light fuel oil, average interest rate on housing loans, fuels for personal transport equipment and televisions. From February to March, the month-on-month change of consumer prices was -0.2 per cent, which was caused by lower prices of petrol, for example.

Each mid-month, Statistics Finland's interviewers collect altogether 44,000 prices on nearly 470 commodities from approximately 2,700 outlets for the Consumer Price Index. Price data is supplemented with scanner data including around 3 million food prices. In addition, some 1,000 items of price data are gathered by centralised collection.

According to preliminary data, inflation in the euro area was 0.7 per cent in March

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area was 0.7 per cent in March. In February it was 1.2 per cent. The corresponding figure for Finland was 0.9 per cent in March.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices does not include owner-occupancy, games of chance, interests on consumption and other credits, fire insurance on owner-occupied dwellings, the vehicle tax or fishing and hunting fees. The consumption items included in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, as well as the rules governing its compilation, have been defined in EU regulations.

Eurostat’s estimate of inflation in the euro area is based on preliminary data from the Member States and on the price development of energy. Eurostat will publish detailed data on Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices for March on 17 April. Information of inflation in EU countries is available on Eurostat homepage , (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main).

The year-on-year change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes was 0.7 per cent in March

The year-on-year change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices stood at 0.9 per cent in March and that in the Index at Constant Taxes measuring market inflation at 0.7 per cent. Over twelve months, the combined raising impact on consumer prices from changes in commodity tax rates was thus 0.2 percentage points. The month-on-month change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was -0.2 per cent and that in the Index at Constant Taxes -0.2 per cent in March.

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes

The inflation measured by Consumer Price Index consists mainly of products and services priced by enterprises and the public sector, and value added and commodity taxes. Some 25 per cent of the private consumption described by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) consists of value added or other taxes. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes (HICP-CT) is based on the HICP so the two indices have the same weight structure and price data. HICP-CT is calculated with a method which holds the tax rate constant relative to the reference period. When tax changes take place, the impact of the tax change on commodity prices is eliminated from HICP-CT. The price impact of the tax changes is obtained by comparing the development of the HICP and HICP-CT.


Source: Consumer Price Index, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kristiina Nieminen 029 551 2957, Hannele Markkanen 029 551 3358, khi@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jan Nokkala

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Updated 14.4.2020

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Consumer price index [e-publication].
ISSN=1799-0254. March 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/khi/2020/03/khi_2020_03_2020-04-14_tie_001_en.html