Interest costs in Sweden continue to rise. This is shown by a forecast from Swedbank that SVT has taken notice of. In total, since interest rate increases began last year, the interest bill for households is expected to rise by 89 percent by the year 2024.
This can be compared with the government’s interest costs, which instead fall – significantly, -44 percent, during the same period. The interest rate also strongly contributes to pushing up ordinary people’s inflation, i.e. price increases (CPI).
– We have a situation where energy prices are falling. In addition, we expect food prices to level off. If we look towards the end of this year, almost all inflation will come from housing interest, says Andreas Wallström, who is head of forecasting at Swedbank, to SVT.
Housing interest costs affect more
The interest cost for housing has gone from being insignificant to accounting for roughly a third of all inflation, corresponding to three percent. But no one escapes interest. Andreas Wallström exemplifies:
– Within the food industry, producers have incurred substantially higher costs due to the interest rate, costs which they in turn pass on to consumers.