Finland’s annual inflation rate edged up to 2.2% in August 2026, from 2.1% recorded in each of the previous three months, reaching its highest level since March 2024. Price growth accelerated in several categories, including food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.6% vs 0.7% in July), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (4.7% vs 3.3%), transport (7.3% vs 5.8%), and recreation and culture (1.9% vs 1.4%). Inflation also returned to positive territory for insurance and financial services (0.4% vs -0.5%).
Meanwhile, deflation eased in clothing and footwear (-1.4% vs -1.6%) and in miscellaneous goods and services (-1.5% vs -1.8%). By contrast, price growth slowed for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (3.6% vs 4.6%), housing and utilities (1.3% vs 2.1%), health (3.0% vs 3.5%), information and communication (3.1% vs 3.7%), education (5.8% vs 11.5%), and restaurants and accommodation services (1.4% vs 2.2%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices declined by 0.2%, offsetting the 0.2% increase seen in the previous month.
