Inflation ebbs to 0.8% in July

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by the Statistics Finland was 0.8 per cent in July. In June, inflation stood at 1.0 per cent.

The decline in inflation was caused by lower prices of hotel rooms, for example, said the Statistics Finland in a press release.

The year-on-year change in consumer prices calculated by the Statistics Finland was 0.8 per cent in July. In June, inflation stood at 1.0 per cent. The decline in inflation was caused, for example, by lower prices of hotel rooms.

The inflation measured by the 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, so the two indices have the same weight structure and price data. HICP-CT is calculated with a method which holds the tax rate constant relative to the reference period. When tax changes take place, the impact of the tax change on commodity prices is eliminated from HICP-CT. The price impact of the tax changes is obtained by comparing the development of the HICP and HICP-CT.