The inflation rate according to the CPI was 12.0 percent in February 2023, an increase from January when it was 11.7 percent. Alexandra Stråberg, chief economist at Länsförsäkringar, sees the new figures as a cold shower for the Riksbank. – This is a real cold shower for the Riksbank. The inflation figures came in much higher than expected and you can also see that it is rising, she says. On Wednesday morning, SEB presented new inflation figures – and it was worse than the Riksbank had forecast. CPI rose by 1.1 percent. Food prices, which increased by nearly three percent, have been driving the rise in the inflation rate. – This means that the Riksbank is under pressure before their next meeting. We think they will do a double increase now in April, says Alexandra Stråberg. Several institutes and banks had a more positive forecast compared to the figures that were presented, and the “bottom” still does not seem to have been reached, according to Alexandra Stråberg. – Maybe we thought so. But we see that food and clothing are increasing in price, so things are not going in the direction the Riksbank would like, she says. “Not great fun to pay 40 cents for a paprika” Inflation has already been high and that it now continues to rise can have tough consequences for the Swedish household economies which are already strained. A large proportion of the Swedish loans have variable interest rates and this, in combination with high food prices, is a financial double whammy. – It’s not great fun to pay 40 cents for a paprika. But unfortunately it looks like these high prices will stay for a while longer and that, together with the interest rate, means that it will continue to be tough for households, says Alexandra Stråberg. The next Riksbank meeting is held in April, and according to Alexandra Stråberg, it is difficult to predict what the economic situation will look like then. – A lot can happen until then and the joker in this game is the American banking crisis, if it escalates the Riksbank must rethink. Then we have a bunch of outcomes around inflation until then, she says.
t4-general
Inflation continues to rise: “A real cold shower”
