Sweden: Inflation decelerates to a 15-month low in March
Latest reading: Consumer prices with a fixed interest rate (CPIF) increased 1.6% on a year-on-year basis in March, following a 1.7% rise in the previous month. March’s reading was the weakest since December 2024.
Relative to the previous month’s data, there were reduced price pressures for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (-0.4% on a year-on-year basis vs +0.8% in February) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.0% vs +1.8% in February). In contrast, price pressures were higher for transportation in March (+3.3% vs -1.2% in February).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices—which exclude energy costs, as well as the effect of interest rate changes—rose 1.1% in annual terms in March, following a 1.4% increase in the previous month and marking the lowest print since July 2021; the moderation took markets by surprise. Consumer prices rose 0.5% year on year for the third month running in March.
Lastly, consumer prices with a fixed interest rate fell 0.62% in March on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.64% increase in the previous month.