Consumer prices were raised most in April by increases in the prices of electricity, renovations of detached house, petrol, cigarettes and rents from one year ago.
The rising of consumer prices from one year back was curbed most by reductions in the prices of mobile phones, televisions, detached houses and child day care fees. From March to April, the month-on-month change of consumer prices was 0.6 per cent, which was caused by higher prices of refundable prescription medicines, petrol and international flights, for example.
Each mid-month, Statistics Finland's interviewers collect altogether around 50,000 prices on nearly 470 commodities from approximately 2,700 outlets for the Consumer Price Index. In addition, some 1,000 items of price data are gathered by centralized collection.
Inflation 1.7% in the euro area in April
According to the preliminary data on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area was 1.7 per cent in April. In March, it stood at 1.4 per cent. The corresponding inflation for Finland was 1.5 per cent in April.
The Harmonized 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 Harmonized 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 Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices for April on 17 May. Information of inflation in EU countries is available on Eurostat homepage.
