Finland Times

The inflation remaining negative was influenced, for example, by decreases in the consumer prices of liquid fuels, housing loan interest rates, and mobile communication services from one year ago, according to the statistics.

Consumer prices were raised most in August by increases in rents and maintenance charges from one year ago. Compared to one year ago, the biggest decreases were recorded in the consumer prices of liquid fuels, housing loan interest rates, and mobile communication services.
During the month, the most rise was visible in the consumer prices of single-family houses and vehicle tax, the data show.

The biggest decrease was seen in the consumer prices of package tours and petrol. The consumer prices changed by 0.2 per cent from July to August.

The rate of inflation in the euro area was 0.2 per cent in August. In July, it was 0.2 per cent, according to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices.  

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.

Each mid-month, Statistics Finland's interviewers collect altogether around 50,000 prices on nearly 500 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.  

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 August on 16 September.  

 The year-on-year change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices stood at -0.2 per cent in August and that in the Index at Constant Taxes measuring market inflation at -0.5 per cent. Over twelve months, the combined raising impact on consumer prices from changes in commodity tax rates was thus 0.3 percentage points.

The month-on-month change in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was 0.0 per cent and
that in the Index at Constant Taxes 0.1 per cent in August.
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.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes (HICP-CT) is based on the HICP and so the two indices have the same weight structure and price data.