CONSUMER PRICES

Prices of vegetables, housing, medical services raise inflation

A woman doing shopping in a supermarket. Photo: Foreigner.fi.

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

Annual inflation stood at 0.2% in November, pushed up by the price of vegetables, housing, tobacco, and medical services, among other goods and services.

According to Statistics Finland's Consumer Price Index, inflation was raised most most by increases in the prices of cigarettes, vegetables, single-unit 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 October to November, however, there was a minimal drop in inflation. The month-on-month variation in consumer prices was -0.1%, and the drop was caused by lower prices for international flights, among others.

Source: Statistics Finland.

Inflation -0.3% in the euro area

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices produced by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), the rate of inflation in the euro area was -0.3% in November. The corresponding figure for Finland was 0.2%.

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

Each mid-month, Statistics Finland's interviewers collect altogether 21,000 prices on nearly 470 commodities from approximately 2,200 outlets for the Consumer Price Index. Price data is supplemented with scanner data including around 3 million prices.