Statistics
Sweden reported on Monday the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.7
per cent m-o-m in December 2023 after a 0.3 per cent m-o-m gain in November. This
marked the strongest monthly advance in consumer prices since June 2023 (+1.1
per cent m-o-m).
On a y-o-y
basis, the CPI climbed 4.4 per cent in December, following a 5.8 per cent surge
in the previous month. This represented the weakest
annual rise in consumer prices since February 2022 (+4.3 per cent y-o-y).
Economists had predicted
the CPI to increase 0.6 per cent m-o-m and 4.3 per cent y-o-y.
According to
the report, the December moderation in the annual CPI rate was mainly
attributable to a deeper decline in electricity prices (-38.9 per cent
y-o-y compared to ‑22.5 per cent y-o-y
in November) and slower increases in prices for food and non-alcoholic
beverages (+5.3 per cent y-o-y compared to +6.2 per cent y-o-y in November), recreation
and culture (+7.3 per cent y-o-y compared to +7.6 per cent y-o-y), and miscellaneous
goods and services (+4.4 per cent y-o-y compared to +4.7 per cent y-o-y).
Meanwhile, the
CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF), the Riksbank’s target variable for the
inflation target, surged 0.6 per cent m-o-m in December, following a 0.1 per
cent m-o-m uptick in November. On a y-o-y basis, the CPIF soared 2.3 per cent, sharply
decelerating from a 3.6 per cent y-o-y increase recorded in the previous month.
This was the softest annual advance in CPIF since July 2021 (+1.7 per cent).
Economists had expected
the CPIF to increase 0.4 per cent m-o-m and 2.2 per cent y-o-y.