Swedish inflation and food prices on the rise

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Swedish prices increased slightly since January and inflation remained at 11.7 percent as food prices went up even while energy costs went down.

Sofie Ohman at statistics Sweden said, "Electricity prices decreased by 27.4 percent in the last month, which also contributed to an easing in the inflation rate from December to January."

However, food prices have increased by 20.4 percent when compared to last year. 

Read more: Poverty on the rise in Sweden amid inflation, energy crisis

Statistics Sweden said that the consumer price index (CPI) recorded 12.4 percent in December, which is the highest it's been in 30 years.  Household mortgages contributed 2.5 percentage points to the annual inflation rate. 

In January, Sweden's CPIF, the figure used by Sweden's central bank to guide monetary policy, was 9.3%, previously 10.2% in December. 

The Scandinavian country's central bank sharply hiked its key interest rate in the past few months. It is currently 3%, while it was 0% in April 2022. It is believed that more increases are to come. 

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In the European Commission's (EC) most recent economic forecast, the worst economy among the EU's 27 member states is Sweden, with took a hit in its GDP, which is expected to shrink by 0.8%, making it the only EU member state experiencing negative growth.

However, Sweden's economy may experience growth again in 2024 by 1.2%, but even if that does occur, it would still have the most minimal growth in the EU by then.