Taylor Swift’s tour caused inflation in Sweden to rise for the first time in a year—a bigger impact than Beyonce’s tour last year.
Sweden’s core inflation rate unexpectedly rose for the first time in more than a year in May, a setback for the Riksbank after it began cutting borrowing costs.
The average price that removes energy costs and the impact of interest rate changes increased by 3% from last year, according to data published by Statistics Sweden on Friday. That was above the 2.6% average in a Bloomberg survey of analysts and the central bank’s forecast of 2.9%.
While some of the increase in prices can be explained by rising accommodation prices as Taylor Swift fans flock to the nation’s capital for three concerts, prices for clothing, food and tourism have also increased. Hotel prices have risen 11% since April, the biggest monthly increase since May 2019, and bigger than May last year, when Beyoncé’s two shows in the capital attracted around 100,000 spectators.
The reading comes as downward price pressures prompted Sweden’s central bank to begin a path towards easing monetary policy. The Riksbank lowered its benchmark rate to 3.75% from 4% in May and said it expects to cut borrowing costs twice before the end of the year.
The easing measures are designed to provide much-needed fuel to the ailing Swedish economy, which is widely seen as more sensitive to interest rate changes than many peers, as most mortgages have short-term maturities.
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