Finland Times

 

File Photo Lehtikuva.

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by Statistics Finland slowed down even further, as it was 1.1% in March, 1.3% in February and 1.6% in January, thanks to the fall of the prices of vegetables from February to March.

 

In March, consumer prices were pushed up most in the year by rent increases, and higher prices of restaurant and café services and alcoholic beverages.

 

The rising of consumer prices was curbed most in March by falling prices of liquid fuels, entertainment electronics and detached houses from one year ago. From February to March, consumer prices went up by 0.2%.

 

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, the rate of inflation in the euro area slowed down to 0.5% in March from 0.7% in February. The corresponding figure for Finland was 1.3% in March.

 

The year-on-year change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices stood at 1.3% in March and that in the Index at Constant Taxes measuring market inflation at 0.8%. Over twelve months, the combined raising impact on consumer prices from changes in commodity tax rates was thus 0.5 percentage points.

 

The month-on-month change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was 0.2% and that in the Index at Constant Taxes 0.3% in March. There was no change in tax rates in March.

 

The inflation measured by Consumer Price Index consists mainly of products and services priced by enterprises and the public sector, and value added and commodity taxes.

 

Some 25 per cent of the private consumption described by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) consists of value added or other taxes.