Swedish Inflation Hits 7-Month High of 0.8%

Consumer prices in Sweden increased 0.8% year-on-year in May 2026, rebounding from a 0.1% decline in the previous month and surpassing market forecasts of a 0.5% increase, according to preliminary estimates. It was the highest inflation rate since October 2025, mainly driven by higher energy and services prices. Transport costs increased at a faster pace (6.0% vs 5.2% in April), amid rising energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict, while housing and utilities rebounded (2.6% vs -0.1%). In contrast, food prices declined further (-6.3% vs -5.7%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices advanced 1.0%, following a 0.6% decline in April, exceeding forecasts of a 0.7% increase and marking the fastest rise since June 2023. Meanwhile, the CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF), the Riksbank’s target measure, climbed 1.5% year-on-year in May, above expectations of a 1.3% increase and accelerating from April’s 0.8% rise, which was the softest increase since December 2020.

Consumer prices in Sweden edged down by 0.1% year-on-year in April 2026, confirming preliminary estimates, following a 0.5% rise in March. This was the first decline in consumer prices since April 2020, mainly due to a sharp drop in food prices (-5.7% vs 0% in March). Prices also fell faster for information and communication (-2.1% vs -1.8%), recreation, sport and culture (-2.4% vs -0.6%), and health (-5.3% vs -4.6%), while prices for housing and utilities (-0.1% vs -0.4%) and furnishing, household equipment, and routine household maintenance (-2.0% vs -3.6%) declined at softer rates. Meanwhile, transport costs increased at a faster pace (5.2% vs 3.3%), amid rising energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict. Monthly, the CPI decreased by 0.6%, matching the pace recorded in March. The CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF), the Riskbank’s target measure, rose by 0.8% from a year earlier in April, the smallest increase since December 2020, slowing from a 1.6% advance in March.

Consumer prices in Sweden edged down by 0.1% year-on-year in April 2026, missing market forecasts of a 0.3% rise and slipping from a slightly downwardly revised 0.5% gain in the previous month, according to preliminary estimates. The latest figure also marked the first month of decline since April 2020. “In the preliminary calculations, we can see that food prices fell by 5.5% from March to April,” said Sofie Öhman, price statistician at Statistics Sweden. On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped by 0.6%, exceeding forecasts of a 0.2% fall and the same pace as in the preceding period. Meanwhile, the CPI with a fixed interest rate (CPIF), the Riskbank’s target measure, rose by 0.8% year-on-year in April, the softest increase since December 2020, below expectations of a 1.2% gain and slowing from March’s 1.6% rise.