Inflation 0.2% at the end of 2020

Finland ended 2020, the year of the great crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with just a couple of tenths of inflation.

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by Statistics Finland was 0.2% in December. In November, inflation stood also at 0.2%. The average inflation rate in 2020 was 0.3%.

Consumer prices were raised most in December by increases in the prices of cigarettes, detached dwellings, wireless telephone services as well as fees of medical examination and treatment from one year ago.

The rising of consumer prices from one year back was curbed most by reductions in the prices of fuels and hotel rooms.

From November to December, the month-on-month change of consumer prices was 0.1% which was caused by higher prices of flights, for example.

-0.3% in Euro area

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area was -0.3% in December. The final euro area inflation for November was -0.3%. The corresponding figure for Finland was 0.2% in December.

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.