Inflation drops to 5.6% in August

The year-on-year change in consumer prices was 5.6 per cent in August, according to Statistics Finland.

In July, inflation stood at 6.5 per cent. The decrease of inflation from July to August was mostly caused by the adjustment of the price index of electricity, which was made in the publication of August.

Consumer prices were raised most in August by increases in average interest rate on housing loans and consumer credits from one year ago.

The rising of consumer prices from one year back was curbed most by reductions in the prices of electricity, petrol and real estates.

The month-on-month change of consumer prices was minus 0.7 per cent, which was mostly due to the adjustment of the price index of electricity.

The core inflation of Consumer Price Index was 6.8 per cent. Core inflation does not include food and energy price changes, as the short-term price fluctuations in these are higher compared to other commodity groups.

According to preliminary data, inflation in the euro area was 5.3 per cent in August 2023.