Some measures of underlying inflation – which relates more to domestic price pressures – have ticked up moderately in recent months. For example, HICP inflation excluding food and energy, which in August was 1.3% for the second consecutive month, has surpassed the 1% level where it had been languishing for around three years.
As many as 80% of the Finns support EMU and the euro. After joining EMU, unfavourable demand and supply shocks have tested our ability to adjust, when the nominal exchange rate has no more been available to smooth out the ramifications to the real economy.