STOCKHOLM, July 14 (Xinhua) – Inflation continues to accelerate in Sweden when the CPIF (Consumer price index with fixed interest rates) rose by 8.5 percent on an annual basis in June, according to statistics released on Thursday.
Data collected by Statistics Sweden have for months confirmed that the country has suffered from the highest inflation in more than three decades, and now the inflation figure for June exceeded the previous months – 7.2 per cent in May and 6.4 per cent in April.
“Prices of food, electricity and fuel rose and affected inflation the most,” says Sofie Ohman, price statistician at Statistics Sweden, in a press release.
The data show that in the food category, the prices of everyday food such as milk, bread, eggs, cheese and meat have risen the most. In total, the food is 2 percent more expensive compared to the previous month. Over the past year, consumer food prices have risen by 11.2 percent.
Prices for fuel and electricity rose by 10.4 and 6.6 per cent respectively from May. The constant price increases mean that during 12 months the price of fuel rose by 54.2 per cent in June, while electricity became 39.8 per cent more expensive.
Rising fuel and electricity costs have not only driven up food prices, but also contributed to higher housing costs, with an increase of 1.6 per cent for rental apartments and a price increase of 8.1 per cent for owned homes over a 12-month period.
The astonishing inflation in Sweden has not gone unnoticed by the central bank, the Riksbank, which recently announced a series of policy rate increases in an attempt to lower inflation to the 2% target.
Source: sn.dk