The Finnish service producer prices experienced a notable increase in the second quarter of 2023, according to data released by Statistics Finland. The annual change in the service producer price index for this period stood at 3.4%. When compared to the previous quarter, service producer prices rose by 0.7%.
Key Highlights:
- Overall, service producer prices (BtoAll) increased by 3.4% compared to the same period last year and 0.7% from the previous quarter.
- Services offered to businesses and the public sector (BtoB) saw a rise of 3.1% from the previous year and 0.7% from the previous quarter.
- Services provided to households (BtoC) experienced a significant increase of 4.4% year on year and 0.8% from the previous quarter.
Contributing Factors to Index Changes: The upward trajectory in service producer prices across all categories (BtoAll) was primarily driven by the cost increase in catering services, rental and management services of own or leased properties, and healthcare services. However, the rise was tempered by the decrease in prices for services such as management consulting, telecommunications services, and maritime and coastal water transport services from the second quarter of 2022.
For services targeted at businesses and the public sector (BtoB), the rise in producer prices was attributed to the increased costs of rental and management services of own or leased properties, healthcare services, computer programming, and consulting services, along with related services, as compared to the same period last year. However, as with the BtoAll index, the growth was restrained by the decline in prices for management consulting, telecommunications services, and maritime and coastal water transport services from the second quarter of 2022.
For services provided to households (BtoC), the notable increase in prices was driven particularly by the rising costs of catering services, healthcare services, and rental and management services of own or leased properties compared to the same period in the previous year. However, the increase was partly offset by the decreasing prices of renting and leasing of private cars and light motor vehicles compared to the previous year.