Inflation reduces slightly in March

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by Statistics Finland was 0.8 per cent in March. In February, the inflation stood at 1.2 per cent. The inflation remained positive due to increases in the consumer prices of liquid fuels, cigarettes, the vehicle tax, and electricity from one year ago.

Consumer prices were raised most in March by increases in the prices of liquid fuels, cigarettes, the vehicle tax and electricity from one year ago. Compared with the previous year, interest on housing loans and consumer credits, as well as consumer prices of mobile phones decreased most. From February to March, consumer prices changed by 0.0 per cent.

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 centralised collection.

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area was 1.5 per cent in March. In February, it was 2.0 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.