Sweden's annual inflation hits 9.3 pct in October as food, fuel prices surge

Stockholm [Sweden], November 16: In October, widespread price increases continued in Sweden for products such as food - in particular vegetables - and non-alcoholic beverages as the country's CPIF (Consumer Price Index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation rate stood at 9.3 percent, down from 9.7 percent in September, Statistics Sweden said on Tuesday.
The country's CPI (Consumer Price Index) reached 10.9 percent in October as "increased interest expenses contributed with about 1.8 percentage point to the inflation rate."
"The inflation rate according to CPI was higher than according to CPIF because of the increased interest rates of mortgages. This effect is eliminated from CPIF," Caroline Neander, price statistician at Statistics Sweden, explained.
Fuels, electricity, food and non-alcoholic beverages were among the biggest contributors to the October inflation rate. These products were, respectively, 32.7 percent, 25.6 percent and 17.2 percent more expensive than in the same month a year ago.
In the category of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the increases in the price of meat, milk, eggs, cheese, bread and cereal were the most noteworthy.
In general, food prices account for around 15 percent of Swedish households' budgets. But for low-income households, this percentage tends to be significantly higher, Swedish daily DagensNyheter reported.
Source: Xinhua