The pace of inflation in Sweden eased in January from a 30-year high the previous month, data showed on Monday, but the decline may not be enough to deflect the central bank from its plan to hike rates at its next policy meeting.
Consumer prices in Sweden, measured with a fixed interest rate, fell 1.3% in January from the previous month and were up 9.3% from the same month last year, the statistics office (SCB) said on Monday.
The Riksbank, which targets 2% headline inflation, had a forecast of 9.3%. Economists polled by Reuters forecast headline inflation of 9.4%.
However, excluding volatile energy prices, inflation was 8.7%, up from 8.4% in December.
Earlier this month, the Riksbank hiked the policy rate by a half percentage-point to 3.0% and forecast at least one more hike. Markets see rates peaking at 3.5% with a chance they could go even higher.
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