OFF THE WIRE

INFLATION DROPS: Estonian consumer price inflation stood at 4.1 percent in May, down from the 12-month figure of 4.6 percent in April, the national statistics office said June 7. Prices rose by 0.3 percent in May from April. (Agence France-Presse)

CRUDE NUMBERS: Mazeikiu Nafta, Lithuania's sole oil refinery, processed 2.65 million tons of crude oil and other feedstock in the five months ended Jun. 2, a 7.6 percent decline from the same period in 2001.

The refinery's product output dropped by 7.2 percent year on year to 2.22 million tons, and sales declined by 9.9 percent, to 2.20 million tons. Mazeikiu Nafta's Butinge terminal, which resumed loading operations in March after last November's oil spill, handled 1.25 million tons of Russian crude oil in the first five months of this year, a 44.6 percent decline from the same period of 2001. (Baltic News Service)

BUSINESS-FRIENDLY: The European Investment Bank granted a 10 million euro ($9.43 million) credit line to Latvia's Pirma Bank for long-term lending to small- and medium-size businesses. Pirma Banka will grant loans from EIB credit line in lats, U.S. dollars or euros for anywhere from three to 12 years. Loans will be available to companies with net fixed assets below 75 million euros and fewer than 500 employees. (BNS)

JOBLESS RATE DROPS: The unemployment rate in Lithuania dropped by 0.7 percentage points in May, to 11.1 percent of the workforce, the national labor bureau said on June 5. The unemployment rate in May fell 1.2 percentage points from the figure for May 2001. The bureau said 194,300 people were registered as unemployed on June 1, down by 11,800 over one month. (AFP)

ENVIRONMENTAL KUDOS: Eesti Energia and green crusader Aleksander Maastik, editor of Estonia's first environmental dictionary, will share this year's Estonian Environmental Award. Energy giant Eesti Energia was recognized for its "green energy" plan, which emphasizes alternative forms of power such as wind- and water-generated energy.

Those who purchase these forms of energy, which are slightly more costly than the traditional, but less environmentally-friendly oil-shale energy, also make a donation to the Nature Fund of Estonia, which supports a number of environmental projects. Estonia's largest hydropower station in Linnamëe will start operating in August this year. (BNS)

KEHRIS RESIGNS: Ojars Kehris, council chairman of Latvia's state-owned power utility Latvenergo, stepped down on June 10 so as not to violate a conflict-of-interest law that prohibits state officials from concurrently working in the private sector. Kehris, a representative of coalition partner Latvia's Way, is board chairman at the Multihalle company and a council member for Baltijas Tranzitu Banka and Rigas Centralais Terminals. (BNS)

FILM FANATICS: The average price of a cinema ticket in Estonia rose by 26 percent year on year to 58 kroons ($3.40), the statistics office said, but moviegoers continued to flock to cinemas to watch 199 different films over the same time period. The number of productions shown also increased by 9 percent over 2000, while the number of admissions was up by 21 percent. An average screening attracted 34 viewers, and 96 percent of all moviegoers in Estonia last year went to see at least one U.S. film. (BNS)

LATVIAN EXPORTS SAG: Latvia fell behind its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Estonia in exports during the first-quarter of 2002, the Latvian Statistics Office reported. Exports stood at $488 million, compared with Estonian exports of $721 million and Lithuanian exports at $1.015 billion. Exports to the European Union member states made up 61 percent of total Latvian exports, 69 percent of Estonian exports and 54 percent of Lithuanian exports over the period. (BNS)

MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH: The WiFi wireless network, a fast and cheap Internet network, could help mobile phone operators in Estonia who plan to start building third-generation networks next year.

The WiFi, or wireless fidelity, network, is fast, cheap and already covers most of Tallinn's hotels, many pubs and restaurants and downtown areas such as Town Hall Square, Freedom Square and Pirita Beach, the daily Eesti Paevaleht reported. (BNS)

MORTGAGE HELP: Latvia and the World Bank will sign June 13 an agreement on a $2 million loan for implementing a housing project that will simply mortgage loans to first-time home buyers and pensioners. For these recipients a part of the loan payment, if they are unable to pay this money by themselves, will be guaranteed by the World Bank's resources. The project implementation is planned to last from this year through 2004. (BNS)