Lower than expected

The Central Bureau of Statistics (SCB), which is the organization responsible for reporting Sweden's inflation rates, published the figures for June today. According to Bloomberg, the economists' expectations for CPIF for June 2024 were 1.6%, instead it became 1.3%. Which is 1% lower compared to 2.3%, which was the inflation rates for May 2024.

That the outcome was as low as 1.3% will put pressure on Sweden's Central Bank AKA Riksbanken to lower the policy rate in August, whose target for CPIF is 2%. I don't want to believe that Riksbanken, which is supposed to be the best Sweden has when it comes to the economy, did not foresee this massive decline.

I stick to my guess that Riksbanken took the cowardly route and refrained from lowering the policy rate at the last monetary policy meeting on 27 June 2024 to avoid risking the Swedish krona losing value against the euro in the middle of the summer holidays.