Finland Times

The inflation rate in Finland has slowed down to 1.5 percent in April from 1.7 percent recorded in March, said the Statistics Finland. 

The statistic said Inflation rate decreased in April due to the effect of the rise in the vehicle tax a year ago faded and prices of energy lowered. Starting from January, the Consumer Price Index is a chain index, where the commodity basket and weights are updated annually.

In April, consumer prices were pushed up compared to the previous year due to increased prices of food and restaurant and café services. Food prices went up mostly due to higher prices of meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products, the statistics showed. 

The increased restaurant prices were caused above all by rising prices of alcoholic beverages and meals at workplace canteen. Increases in rents and higher price of tobacco also had an effect on inflation. 

The rising of consumer prices was curbed significantly in April by fallen interest rates and prices of telecommunication services from the previous year. From March to April, consumer prices rose by 0.1 per cent.

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area slowed down to 1.2 per cent in April which was 1.7 per cent in March. The corresponding figure for Finland was 2.4 per cent in April.

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 or the vehicle tax. 

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.

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 Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices for April on May 16. Information of inflation in EU countries is available on Eurostat homepage.