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LISEBERG

Traffic update: What people in Gothenburg should know about the Liseberg fire

A public alert, warning people in south-eastern Gothenburg to stay inside after a huge fire at the Liseberg amusement park, was lifted late on Monday.

Published: 12 February 2024 14:28 CET
Updated: 13 February 2024 06:44 CET
Traffic update: What people in Gothenburg should know about the Liseberg fire
A fire broke out at the Liseberg amusement park on Monday morning. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT

The so-called viktigt meddelande till allmänheten, an “important message to the public”, was broadcast on Sweden’s public broadcasters SR and SVT.  

The message warned of “fire in a building with significant amounts of smoke as a result”.

“The leaders of the rescue services are calling for everyone in the area to go inside and close doors, windows and ventilation,” the message ran. 

The warning was issued after a huge fire engulfed the Liseberg amusement park in flames. It was lifted by around 8pm on Monday.

Which areas of Gothenburg were affected? 

According to P4 Gothenburg, pieces of rubbish were falling from the air in the area of Guldheden, near the Liseberg amusement park, with cars turned white by flakes of falling ash and people in the area covering their faces with clothing to protect them from toxic fumes.

Police called on people to avoid the area around the amusement park if at all possible. 

Guests evacuated the Grand Curiosa Hotel, office buildings near the area, and the nearby World of Volvo corporate exhibition centre. 

Newspaper Göteborgs-Posten reported that children at 15 preschools in the area were kept inside to prevent them inhaling toxic smoke. 

How many people have been injured? 

According to the local Sahlgrenska Hospital, 22 people received minor injuries.

One man has been reported missing.

How is traffic affected? 

According to P4’s traffic service, the main Södra vägen road into central Gothenburg was closed where it meets Korsvägen at Liseberg as a result of the fire. Early on Monday it was open in the direction of Mölndal, but still closed in the direction of Korsvägen.

According to the Swedish Transport Administration, the road was set to reopen at 8am on Monday.

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ECONOMY

Swedish inflation drops below 4 percent for first time in two years

Sweden's consumer price index fell to 3.9 percent in April, reinforcing predictions that the central bank will keep lowering interest rates this year.

Published: 15 May 2024 09:25 CEST
Swedish inflation drops below 4 percent for first time in two years

The yearly inflation rate according to the consumer price index (CPI) was down from 4.1 percent in March, according to number crunchers Statistics Sweden.

Experts had predicted an inflation rate of 4.0 percent, according to Bloomberg.

“The effect of increasing interest rates for household’s mortgages is easing, which can explain the decreasing inflation rate in April,” Statistics Sweden analyst Carl Mårtensson said in a statement.

Inflation measured instead according to the CPIF metric – the consumer price index with interest rate fluctuations taken out of the equation – meanwhile rose slightly from 2.2 to 2.3 percent.

However, that still beats expectations, which had predicted CPIF inflation of 2.4 percent.

YOUR SWEDISH MONEY:

That puts it slightly above the Riksbank’s inflation target of two percent, and experts predicted that Wednesday’s inflation news strengthened the likelihood that the bank will cut interest rates further.

The Riksbank last week slashed Sweden’s so-called policy rate for the first time in eight years.

The policy rate is the central bank’s main monetary policy tool. It decides which rates Swedish banks can deposit in and borrow money from the Riksbank, which in turn affects the banks’ own interest rates on savings, loans and mortgages.

If bank interest rates are high, it’s expensive to borrow money, which means people spend less and as a result inflation drops.

But now that inflation appears to be holding relatively steady around the two percent target, it means that the bank might be able to start lowering the policy rate yet again.

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