Sweden Inflation Eases To 4.1%, Lowest In 26 Months

Sweden's consumer price inflation softened more-than-expected in March amid lower food costs, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 4.1 percent year-over-year in March, slower than the 4.5 percent increase in February. Economists had expected inflation to ease slightly to 4.4 percent.

Further, this was the slowest inflation rate since January 2022, when prices had risen 3.7 percent.

Data showed that the consumer price index with a fixed interest rate, or CPIF, also increased at a weaker pace of 2.2 percent annually in March versus 2.5 percent growth in the prior month. The expected rate was 2.6 percent.

However, the inflation was still above the Riksbank's target of 2.0 percent.

Food prices dropped 0.7 percent annually in March, and communication costs also decreased the same.

Clothing and footwear prices were 4.9 percent higher, though slower than the 5.1 percent rise in February. Meanwhile, costs for housing and utilities surged 9.3 percent in March, almost at the same pace as in the prior month.

Month-on-month, consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.2 percent gain in the prior month. The expected increase was 0.4 percent. Core consumer prices also rose by 0.1 percent.

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