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ECONOMY

Sweden facing ‘the highest inflation in 30 years’

Sweden last month saw the highest levels of inflation in more than 30 years, according to the latest figures from Statistics Sweden.

Published: 12 May 2022 15:22 CEST
Sweden facing 'the highest inflation in 30 years'
Meat and vegetables led price rises in April. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

Consumer prices rose 6.4 percent in April, the agency reported in its latest monthly figures, well ahead of the 6.1 percent rise predicted by analysts and up from 6.1 percent in March. 

“This shows high inflationary pressure. It’s in line with consensus, but it’s 0.2 percentage points higher than what the Riksbank has been predicting,” said Olle Holmgren, an economist with SEB. 

Rising prices of meat, vegetables and other groceries were the main reasons for the rise, with the prices of electricity and fuel falling month-on-month. If energy prices are excluded, inflation was 4.5 percent in April, up from 4.1 percent in March. 

“Restaurant prices are rise quite a bit for the second month in a row. That can be linked to grocery prices,” Holmgren said. “Then there are higher prices generally, but grocery prices are increasing rapidly.”

Holmgren predicted that the inflation rate could continue to rise in the coming months, increasing the risk that Sweden’s public bank, the Riksbank, will hike interest by 0.5 percentage points — two slots — in September. 

Fuel prices fell in April compared to March, although diesel remains 56.7 percent higher than a year ago and petrol 36 percent higher. 

The price coffee is higher now than at any time since it joined the consumer price index in 1983, after rising 29 percent so far this year. 

Other groceries which have risen significantly in price this year are cabbage and tomatoes, which rose in price by 43 percent ad 33 percent respectively. 

The price of avocado has fallen by 14 percent this year, while pickled herring has fallen in price by 16 percent. 

Member comments

  1. Why am I not surprised and when Putin cuts off Finland’s Gas supplies today as he said he would , he will make Sweden beg for mercy when he turns to them , and this Inflation problem will not be the only problem the we know it all Swedes have on their hands . The Neutrality was a Sweden’s most powerful weapon , recognised and respected all over the world , so throwing it away because of Ukraine deserves no sympathy . I invested millions in Sweden , came with my own money and have left with my money to a safer place to live where people actually understand Geopolitics .

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MONEY

How Sweden’s 2024 spring amendment budget could affect you

The Swedish government announced its spring amendment budget on April 15th. How will it affect people living in Sweden in the coming year?

Published: 15 April 2024 10:51 CEST
How Sweden's 2024 spring amendment budget could affect you

What is the government aiming for with this budget?

The government has said that this budget, negotiated with the support of the Sweden Democrats, is part of its long-term plan to navigate Sweden’s difficult economic situation, which has the following aims:

  • Fight inflation and support households and welfare

The aim here is “to pursue well-balanced fiscal policy to help drive down inflation while more evenly distributing the burden of high prices”, the government explains on its website.

  • Re-institute the “work-first” principle

The work-first principle is essentially the idea that it should be more profitable for an individual to work than to be unemployed.

The government predicts that an additional 40,000 people could become unemployed this year due to the current state of the economy, and plans to address this by providing training and education initiatives to better equip jobseekers, as well as “remedying the labour market’s structural problems” and “reinforcing the motivating factors behind work and self-sufficiency”.

  • Structural reforms for stronger growth

Here, the government plans to “shift the focus back to economic development”, by introducing structural reforms to increase productivity and improve long-term growth.

How will proposals in the spring amendment budget affect us living in Sweden?

Much of the budget is aimed at mitigating any adverse effects of the current state of the Swedish economy, with these proposals aiming to keep the status quo and stop things from getting worse.

For example, one of the largest posts in the new budget is 6 billion kronor to Sweden’s regions, which will go towards compensating for the effects of inflation and avoiding dismissals of healthcare staff. This is in addition to 1.5 billion kronor for increased pharmaceutical costs and a 500 million kronor “extra knowledge grant” in additional regional funding for schools.

There are also proposals designed to help anyone who becomes unemployed over the next year, like a proposal to allocate 167 million kronor to creating more places in adult education, as well as extending the temporarily increased housing allowance for economically disadvantaged families with children at a cost of 650 million. The government has also proposed an allocation of 130 million kronor to Swedish municipalities which will be used to fund summer jobs.

There are also investments designed to strengthen law enforcement and improve the safety and security of people living in Sweden, like an allocation of 260 million kronor to the Tax Agency, customs and the Swedish Enforcement Authority which will be used to “crush” criminal finances, as well as 1.38 billion kronor to fund more prison places, 1.035 billion kronor in funding to improve security and baggage handling in airports and 100 million kronor to the Swedish courts.

Some of the proposals are also aimed at improving Swedish defence, like a 300 million kronor allocation to the Swedish Armed Forces and 385 million kronor for strengthening civil defence.

The government has also announced plans to lower tax on both pensions and income, lower fuel tax, and remove tax on the first 300,000 kronor of savings in ISKs – investment saving accounts.

In terms of budget proposals which will affect immigrants in particular, 25 million kronor has been allocated to attracting international talent, 20 million kronor will go towards funding Swedish courses for Ukrainian refugees, and 138 million will cover costs associated with getting Ukrainians on to Sweden’s population register.

How has the opposition reacted?

The Social Democrats’ economic spokesperson, former Finance Minister Mikael Damberg, called it “a tangled mess of proposals” and an “odd budget”, adding that it was “not a budget for the Swedish people”.

He added that the government should not just be focusing on growing the police force, but also on identifying young people who are at risk of sliding into a life of crime, so that social services can step in at an early stage.

The opposition also criticised the government for not doing enough to support Swedish regions, arguing that six billion kronor is not a sufficient investment to solve the healthcare crisis.

The Social Democrats will present their shadow budget in two weeks.

“We think that families with children are in a much worse position due to this crisis. We think that banks have taken out too much in profits, and that there’s a possibility to work with the power of consumers and use the state bank, SBAB,” Damberg said, adding that his party would like to see a bank tax in the new budget.

The government’s decision to scrap tax on ISK savings has also been criticised by two major authorities: the Financial Management Authority (ESV) and the National Institute of Economic Research (NIER, KI in Swedish). 

NIER said in a response to the proposal that the tax cut benefits represents a large tax cut to people who already have substantial savings, rather than encouraging people to save more.

“If you’re trying to get more people to save, it’s difficult to understand why the government is setting the limit at 300,000 kronor,” the author of NIER’s response to the proposal, Sebastian Escobar-Jansson, told Swedish news agency TT. 

Over half of people with ISK accounts have savings of less than 74,000 kronor.

“More than half of the tax cut benefits those who already have more than 300,000 kronor in an ISK,” ESV added.

In 2024, tax on ISK accounts is 1.086 percent, which is paid whether the account’s investments are making a profit or a loss.

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