People shop at a supermarket in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 14, 2022. Sweden's inflation rate hit a new three-decade high in August, according to official statistics released on Wednesday. The CPIF (consumer price index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation reached 9 percent in August, up from 8 percent in July, Statistics Sweden said. (Xinhua/He Miao)
STOCKHOLM, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's inflation rate hit a new three-decade high in August, according to official statistics released on Wednesday.
The CPIF (consumer price index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation reached 9 percent in August, up from 8 percent in July, Statistics Sweden said.
Inflation accelerated in August despite fuel becoming considerably cheaper than in July. Electricity, however, was getting increasingly expensive, up 29 percent from July and 51.4 percent from a year ago.
"The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages has risen every month since December 2021. In total, this is a price increase of 14.03 percent in the past year," Carl Martensson, a price statistician at Statistics Sweden, said in a press release.
According to the statistics, the price of margarine rose by 39.7 percent year on year, while that of milk and coffee was up by 29 percent and 36.7 percent respectively year on year.
Prices also increased for maintenance and repairs of dwellings, furnishing and household equipment, restaurant menus, accommodation services as well as miscellaneous goods and services.
Analysts now believe that the Swedish central bank Riksbanken, which has lately implemented a string of policy rate increases in response to the soaring inflation, will announce further rate hikes in an attempt to rein in inflation to its two-percent target. ■
A woman shops at a supermarket in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 14, 2022. Sweden's inflation rate hit a new three-decade high in August, according to official statistics released on Wednesday. The CPIF (consumer price index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation reached 9 percent in August, up from 8 percent in July, Statistics Sweden said. (Xinhua/He Miao)
People shop at a supermarket in Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 14, 2022. Sweden's inflation rate hit a new three-decade high in August, according to official statistics released on Wednesday. The CPIF (consumer price index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation reached 9 percent in August, up from 8 percent in July, Statistics Sweden said. (Xinhua/He Miao)