Consumer prices rose by 3.2 percent year-on-year in October, Statistics Finland said on Monday. That was up from 2.5 percent in September. Inflation was driven by higher costs for energy and home repairs.
The last time inflation in Finland was above three percent was in early 2012.
Consumer prices were raised most in October by costlier repairs on detached houses, petrol, diesel, electricity and sales of detached houses compared to a year earlier.
On the other hand, last month brought slightly lower prices for children’s day care, interest on housing loans and consumer credit, medical examinations and treatment fees, as well as lottery tickets and other games of chance.
From September to October, consumer prices rose by eight tenths of a percent, primarily driven by higher electrical bills.
Each month, Statistics Finland checks some 19,000 prices on nearly 400 commodities from approximately 2,100 outlets for its Consumer Price Index.
“Production bottlenecks will continue”
“There are no signs that rapid inflation in Finland will slow in the coming months, as energy is still expensive,” Reijo Heiskanen, Chief Economist of the OP financial group, told the daily Helsingin Sanomat. “Much depends on what kinds of salary increases are agreed. According to our estimates, inflation will remain above two percent on average next year as well.”
“Energy will remain expensive and production bottlenecks will continue, so inflation will remain brisk for at least the next few months,” Pasi Kuoppamäki, chief economist at the Finnish branch of Danske Bank, told the paper. “This is also supported by the fact that Statistics Finland mentions that the rise in the cost of renovations of detached houses has accelerated inflation. Inflation is likely to slow somewhat next year,” he predicted.
Meanwhile the EU’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices suggested more modest inflation.
According to its preliminary data, prices rose by 4.1 percent in October across the 19-member eurozone, but only by 2.8 percent in Finland.
The EU index does not include owner-occupied housing, gambling and interest on credit, among other segments of consumer spending.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.