Swedish inflation falls to 1.9%, lowest in 37 months

STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) – Swedish consumer price inflation slowed more than expected in August to the lowest level in more than three years, according to data from Statistics Sweden published on Thursday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in August, slower than the 2.6 percent increase in July. Economists had expected inflation to moderate to 2.1 percent.

Moreover, this was the lowest inflation since July 2021, when prices rose by 1.4 percent.

Data showed that the consumer price index with a fixed rate, or CPIF, rose at a moderate pace of 1.3 percent per year in August, compared with 2.3 percent growth in the previous month. In addition, inflation remained below the Riksbank’s target of 2.0 percent.

Annual price growth in housing and utilities fell to 4.5 percent from 6.3 percent, with lower electricity prices partly offsetting overall higher housing costs, the agency said.

Health care costs also grew at a softer pace of 5.7 percent, compared with 6.2 percent in July. Meanwhile, transportation costs fell 1.6 percent due to a 20.5 percent drop in fuel costs.

In August, consumer prices fell by 0.6 percent month-on-month, after a slight increase of 0.1 percent in July.

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