Consumer price index, 15 February 2003

The CPI stood at 114.6 (1998=100) in February 2003 in comparison with 109.3 in February 2002. The year-to-year change in the CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 2.0 per cent in February, up from 1.8 per cent in January.

Consumer prices up 0.1 per cent from January to February

From January to February the prices within the transport sector rose by 1.0 per cent. The price increase was mainly dominated by a rise in the petrol prices of 4.9 per cent. Some transport services showed a price increase as well, as for example passenger transport by railway.

Followed by a price decrease in January as a result of a seasonal sale, the prices of furniture, clothing and footwear increased in February. The prices of furniture and furnishings went up the most with an increase of 3.9 per cent, while the prices of clothing and footwear rose by 0.9 and 1.9 per cent respectively.

The prices of food rose by 1.0 per cent from January to February. Fresh vegetables, some products of dairy and sugar were registered with the largest price increases.

The prices of social services and health services went up since the last survey. Among other things, an increase in the kindergarten fees was registered. The fees in the public kindergartens rose by 1.2 per cent, while the private kindergarten fees went up by 1.3 per cent. For more information, see the article: Household payments in kindergartens, January 2003 .

The tariffs on electricity decreased by 6.9 per cent from January to February. The decline was registered after several months with considerable increases in the tariffs. Unlike previous months the tariffs on electricity contributed to moderate the total price growth in February.

Year-to-year change: Strong growth in prices of energy products

The CPI increased by 4.8 per cent from February 2002 to February 2003. The electricity tariffs were the main contributor to the price growth. Even though the tariffs fell by 6.9 per cent from January to February the tariffs are 70.6 per cent higher than in February last year. During the last 12 months the CPI excluding electricity has increased by 2.0 per cent.

The petrol prices have also contributed to the year-to-year growth as the prices have risen by 10.5 per cent since February last year. The CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) has showed a rise of 1.7 per cent in the same period.

Price increases have been registered for different services such as higher insurance premiums and different health services. The prices of newspapers, books and stationery have also increased more than the average consumer price growth.

The prices of clothing have declined by 7.9 per cent since February last year and have together with lower prices of audiovisual equipment and lower airline fares reduced the CPI growth on a year-to-year basis.

The CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) has increased by 5.2 per cent during the last 12 months. Tax changes therefore reduce the consumer price growth by 0.4 percentage points.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI went from 5.0 per cent in January to 4.8 per cent in February due to the price development of tariffs on electricity. Compared with figures for February last year when the tariffs fell slightly by 0.4 per cent, the tariffs declined by 6.9 per cent in February this year.

The year-to-year change in the CPI-AT fell from 5.4 per cent in January to 5.2 per cent in February.