2020.05.1411:42:00UTC+00Finland Consumer Prices Drop For First Time Since 2016

Finland consumer prices dropped for the first time since 2016 in April, data from Statistics Finland showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in April, after a 0.6 percent increase in March. This was the first fall since February 2016.

The decline in consumer prices was caused by lower prices of petrol, the agency said.

In April, consumer prices were raised most by the prices of cigarettes, fruits and electricity, and higher maintenance charges from one year ago.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices fell 0.3 percent in April, following a 0.2 percent decline in the previous month.

The EU measure of harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, fell 0.3 percent annually in April and decreased 0.4 percent from the previous month.

Separate data from the statistical office showed that the final retail sales turnover fell 2.1 percent annually in March after a 1.1 percent rise in February. According to initial estimate, sales were down 1.3 percent.

At the same time, the retail sales volume decreased 0.5 percent in March, after a 1.4 percent rise in the prior month. The rate for March was revised from -2.7 percent.