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INFLATION

Consumer prices keep dropping in Sweden

Sweden's inflation rate continued to fall in July as consumer prices dropped for the fourth straight month, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden.

Swedish prices fell by 0.9 percent in July on a 12-month basis, after dropping by 0.6 percent in June.

July represents the fourth month running in which prices have fallen after falls of 0.4 percent in May and 0.1 percent in April.

Statistics Sweden said the fall in the price of petrol, lower interest rates for housing and cheaper clothes were the key drivers behind the month’s deflation.

It also said that from June to July, consumer prices fell by 0.5 percent.

Sweden experienced several months of strong inflation last year before tailing off rapidly.

In September, inflation was as high as 4.4 percent on a 12-month comparison.

Sweden’s central bank has set itself an inflation target of 2.0 percent year-on-year.

Deflation can hamper economic growth because it reduces businesses profits and discourages investment.

It also leads consumers to put off buying goods in the hope that prices will continue to fall.

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ECONOMY

Spain’s inflation soars to 29-year high

Spanish inflation accelerated in November to its highest level in nearly three decades on the back of rising food and gas prices, official data showed Monday.

black friday spain
Black Friday sales can't disguise the fact for shoppers that life in Spain is getting increasingly expensive. Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

Consumer prices jumped by 5.6 percent, up from a 5.4 percent increase in October, according to preliminary figures from national statistics institute.

That is its fastest pace since September 1992, when the rate was 5.8 percent.

The surge in inflation in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy was due largely to a spike in food prices, followed by higher gas prices, the statistics office said.

Electricity costs, however, declined slightly after a month-long acceleration, it added.

As in other European Union nations, inflation in Spain has risen since the start of the year after consumer prices declined during most of 2020 due to the economic impact of pandemic lockdowns.

In October, eurozone inflation reached 4.1 percent, well above the European Central Bank’s target of two percent and equal to a high set in July 2008.

But the bank believes eurozone inflation will peak in November and is set to gradually slow next year as supply bottlenecks and the energy crunch ease, board member Isabel Schnabel said earlier this month.

Investors worry central banks will withdraw their stimulus measures sooner than expected to tame inflation.

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