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Swedish inflation dips, Beyonce blamed for high prices

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="US singer Beyonce poses for photographers on the red carpet prior to the world premiere of " The="" Lion="" at="" the="" Dolby="" Theater="" in="" July="" Etienne="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/02/01/20230201-beyonce.jpg"/><figcaption>US singer Beyonce poses for photographers on the red carpet prior to the world premiere of &#x27;The Lion King&#x27; at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, USA, July 9, 2019. <em>Etienne Laurent, EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>STOCKHOLM - Swedish inflation dipped under 10 percent in May, official statistics showed Wednesday but was still higher than expected with some analysts suggesting superstar Beyonce had tipped the scales.</p><p>Consumer prices rose by 9.7 percent in May year-on-year, down from 10.5 percent in April, the first time inflation came in under 10 percent in over six months.</p><p>&quot;Continued decrease in electricity and food prices contributed to the lower inflation rate in May,&quot; Mikael Nordin, a statistician at Statistics Sweden, said in a statement.</p><p>At the same time, costs of certain goods and services rose, &quot;for instance hotel and restaurant visits, recreational services, and clothing,&quot; the agency said.</p><p>According to Michael Grahn, chief economist for Sweden at Danske Bank, a visit by Beyonce to Stockholm could explain the unexpected rise.</p><p>&quot;Beyonce&#x27;s start of her world tour in Sweden seems to have colored May inflation, how much is uncertain,&quot; Grahn said in a post to social media.</p><p>Grahn added that her much-hyped concert in May &quot;probably&quot; accounted for 0.2 of the 0.3 percentage points added to inflation by hotel and restaurant prices.</p><p>Tens of thousands of fans flocked to Stockholm in the middle of May to catch the two concerts that kicked off her first solo tour in seven years.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/11/23/fans-in-frenzy-as-beyonce-kicks-off-concert-tour">Fans in frenzy as Beyonce kicks off &#x27;Renaissance&#x27; concert tour</a></li></ul><p>Inflation peaked in December at 12.3 percent -- a more than 30-year high -- then slowed slightly in January to 11.7 percent, but unexpectedly spiked back to 12 percent in February.</p><p>Like its peers in the United States and Europe, Sweden&#x27;s central bank has repeatedly hiked its guiding rate in an effort to rein in inflation.</p><p>The Riksbank raised the rate to 3.5 percent in late April and said it would &quot;probably&quot; raise it by another quarter-point in June or September.</p><p>Inflation-adjusted for fixed interest rates (CPIF) -- the figure used by the Riksbank to guide monetary policy -- was 6.7 percent in May, compared to 7.6 percent in April.</p><p>For 2023 as a whole, the central bank expects the Swedish economy to contract 0.7 percent and has forecast unadjusted inflation of 8.9 percent and rising unemployment.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2451604" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

According to Michael Grahn, chief economist for Sweden at Danske Bank, a visit by Beyonce to Stockholm could explain the unexpected rise.