Consumer prices rose by 0.6 percent in February compared to the previous year, Statistics Finland reports.

That follows a tiny dip in January, when consumer prices edged down by -0.2 percent year-on-year.

February's prices were up by an average of 1.1 percent from the previous month.

Inflation in February was driven primarily by higher costs of electricity. A spell of cold, calm weather kept demand high but wind power production low.

There were smaller impacts from higher prices for cigarettes as well as beef in all forms. Residential building maintenance fees and telecom services also became slightly more expensive.

On the other hand, inflation was dampened by falling interest rates on mortgages, consumer and student loans, and by lower prices for single-family homes.

January's decline in the consumer price index was attributed to decreasing interest rates and housing prices.

Slightly better than eurozone average

The state statistical bureau said on Friday that core inflation within the Consumer Price Index nudged down by 0.1 percent in February. That is calculated based on consumer goods and services besides food and energy, whose prices are more likely to fluctuate in the short term than other commodities.

Meanwhile, Finland's slightly higher inflation in February was in line with a broader European trend.

According to the preliminary data on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the rate of inflation in the euro area was 1.9 percent in February, up from 1.7 percent a month earlier. Finland's corresponding figure for February was just under the eurozone average at 1.8 percent.