Swedish inflation soars in February, Riksbank under pressure
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Loading... - Melissa Grenier
- 21 Mar 2023
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Broad inflation jumped in Sweden in February, data showed on Wednesday, putting pressure on the central bank to hike aggressively at its next meeting in April and to keep tightening policy in the months ahead.
Annual headline inflation at 9.4% was in line with the Riksbank's forecast in February, figures from the Statistics Office showed. However, underlying price pressures - stripping out volatile energy prices - jumped to 9.3% year-on-year, up from 8.7% in the previous month. That was the fastest pace since July 1991.
The Riksbank had forecast underlying inflation of 8.0%.
"There is no doubt that the Riksbank will hike by at least 50 basis points in April, if not more," Lars Kristian Feste, head of fixed income at Ohman Funds, said. "If the Riksbank doesn't get inflation under control, we think the policy rate could probably top 4% this year."
The Swedish crown strengthened sharply after the figures.
Food prices were up nearly 3% in February from January, but prices were also higher for holidays, clothes, furniture and a raft of other goods and services. Read More…
