Unusually high food prices drive Norway's latest high inflation figures
Inflation in Norway is currently 6.4 percent, with a large increase in food prices driving the latest numbers, figures from Statistics Norway show.
Norway's consumer price index (CPI) is up 6.4 per cent from June 2022 to the same month this year, figures released on Monday by national data agency Statistics Norway show.
Over the previous five months, inflation figures have averaged around 6.5 percent when compared to prices 12 months before.
However, the latest figures released are 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous month's CPI increase. Lower energy prices this year compared to the previous year helped drive inflation downward.
Food prices were one of the largest drivers of the latest inflation figures. Between May and June, food prices increased by 2.5 percent. Over the past year, the cost of groceries in Norway has increased by 13.7 percent.
"It is unusual for food prices to increase so much in the month of June. This means that the twelve-month growth for food prices increased in June from an already high level in May," Espen Kristiansen from Statistics Norway said.
The cost of fruit and vegetables helped to drive up food prices. Statistics Norway also wrote that a weak krone exchange made imported foods more expensive.
"Some of the upswing we see in June may be due to a weakened krone exchange rate. The prices of imported agricultural goods rose clearly more than Norwegian agricultural goods in the last month," Kristiansen said.
Experts have recently told The Local that a weak krone exchange rate would continue to put pressure on food prices and inflation in the coming months.
"There will be an effect. As you know, a lot of our food is imported, and that will put upward pressure on food prices in Norway. We think this will last for at least the next couple of quarters in terms of adding upward pressure on food prices.
"Eventually, depending on the rate movements from now on, we will see changes. If we see a further weakening of the krone, that will add more long-lasting pressure," Nils Kristian Knudsen, forex (FX) strategist at Handelsbanken, told The Local.
READ MORE: How will the weak krone affect food prices in Norway in the future?
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Norway's consumer price index (CPI) is up 6.4 per cent from June 2022 to the same month this year, figures released on Monday by national data agency Statistics Norway show.
Over the previous five months, inflation figures have averaged around 6.5 percent when compared to prices 12 months before.
However, the latest figures released are 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous month's CPI increase. Lower energy prices this year compared to the previous year helped drive inflation downward.
Food prices were one of the largest drivers of the latest inflation figures. Between May and June, food prices increased by 2.5 percent. Over the past year, the cost of groceries in Norway has increased by 13.7 percent.
"It is unusual for food prices to increase so much in the month of June. This means that the twelve-month growth for food prices increased in June from an already high level in May," Espen Kristiansen from Statistics Norway said.
The cost of fruit and vegetables helped to drive up food prices. Statistics Norway also wrote that a weak krone exchange made imported foods more expensive.
"Some of the upswing we see in June may be due to a weakened krone exchange rate. The prices of imported agricultural goods rose clearly more than Norwegian agricultural goods in the last month," Kristiansen said.
Experts have recently told The Local that a weak krone exchange rate would continue to put pressure on food prices and inflation in the coming months.
"There will be an effect. As you know, a lot of our food is imported, and that will put upward pressure on food prices in Norway. We think this will last for at least the next couple of quarters in terms of adding upward pressure on food prices.
"Eventually, depending on the rate movements from now on, we will see changes. If we see a further weakening of the krone, that will add more long-lasting pressure," Nils Kristian Knudsen, forex (FX) strategist at Handelsbanken, told The Local.
READ MORE: How will the weak krone affect food prices in Norway in the future?
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