FX.co ★ Finland Inflation Eases To 7.9%, Lowest In 7 Months

Finland's consumer price inflation slowed in March to the lowest level in seven months, led by lower prices of petrol and diesel and by a milder rise in electricity prices, preliminary data from Statistics Finland showed on Friday.

The consumer price index climbed 7.9 percent year-over-year in March, slower than February's 8.8 percent rise.

Further, this was the weakest inflation rate since August 2022, when prices had risen 7.6 percent.

The downward trend in inflation was mainly attributed to the reductions in the prices of petrol, diesel and light fuel oil, the agency said.

Among the major components, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages had the largest impact on inflation, surging by 16.2 percent, followed by miscellaneous goods and services with a 12.6 percent spike.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in March, after a 0.8 percent gain in the prior month.

The EU measure of the harmonized index, or HICP, climbed at a slower pace of 6.7 percent annually in March versus a 7.9 percent rise in February.

Month-on-month, the HICP increased 0.4 percent from February, when it rose by 0.6 percent.