• Energy prices increased from September to October
• The cost for mortgage interest rates declined from September to October but have increased compared to October a year ago.
• Increased rentals and higher fees for tenant-owned apartments affected the inflation rate in October.

Lower mortgage interest rates

The CPI increased by 0.2 percent from September to October. In the corresponding period a year ago, prices also increased by 0.2 percent.

There were price rises in fuels and car rental which contributed to the group other expenses for vehicles. There were also price increases in recreation and culture, where prices for television, film and music services contributed upwards. In addition, electricity prices rose from September to October.

The price increases were partly offset by mortgage interest rates which contributed to a price decrease in October.

The table below shows changes on a monthly basis and contributions to the CPI based on the goods and services that had the greatest impact on the CPI in October 2024. The results are presented by COICOP category. COICOP refers to the United Nations classification of household consumption expenditure.

Contributions to the inflation rate in October

The inflation rate according to the CPI, that is, the change in the CPI from the same month last year, was 1.6 percent in October 2024, which was unchanged from the previous month.

The inflation rate in October was, as in previous months, mainly affected by higher housing costs. Within cost of housing, the largest impact came from rents, monthly fees for tenant-owned apartments and mortgage interest rates for interest expense owner-occupied housing.

There were also price increases in the group recreation and cultural services, which include television, film, and music services. In addition, prices rose for food and non-alcoholic beverages and catering services.

The price increases were partly offset by fuel and telephone equipment.

The inflation rate according to CPIF, which unlike CPI is not affected by changes in mortgage interest rates, was 1.5 percent in October.

The inflation rate calculated excluding energy products (CPIF-XE) was 2.1 percent in October which was an increase from 2.0 percent in September.

Different measures of inflation

Statistics Sweden calculates different inflation measures for different purposes. The CPIF is the Riksbank’s target variable, while CPI is the measure used for purposes of compensation. The CPIF includes the same goods and services as CPI. The difference between the CPI and the CPIF is that the latter measure holds interest rates for household’s mortgages constant. Consequently, the effect of changed interest rates for household’s mortgages is only captured by the CPI and not the CPIF.

Additional to the CPI and the CPIF, the HICP is also calculated. The HICP is a harmonized measure of inflation used within the EU cooperation. Another index that is calculated each month is CPIF-XE (the CPIF excluding energy products) which is often used as a measure of underlying inflation.