Consumer Price Index (CPI), July 2021
Inflation rate was 1.7 percent in July 2021
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2021-08-13 9.30
The CPIF (Consumer Price Index with fixed interest rate) 12-month inflation rate was 1.7 percent in July 2021, up from 1.6 percent in June. On a monthly basis, the inflation rate according to the CPIF rose by 0.3 percent between June and July.
“The rise in electricity prices resulted in the largest contribution to the inflation rate in July. The inflation rate excluding energy products was 0.5 percent, which is the lowest quotation since 2014”, says Caroline Neander, statistician at Statistics Sweden.
In brief
| Index Numbers |
Monthly changes, percent |
Annual changes, percent |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI (1980=100) | 342.23 | 0.3 | 1.4 |
| CPIF (1987=100) | 224.34 | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| CPIF-XE (1987=100) | 210.82 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
- Higher electricity prices affected housing costs
- Fuel prices rose from June to July
- Price increases on coffee contributed to the monthly change
- The inflation rate according to the CPIF excluding energy fell from 0.9 percent in June to 0.5 percent in July
Housing costs rose in July
The CPIF increased by 0.3 percent from June to July. In the corresponding period a year ago, the CPIF increased by 0.2 percent.
The main contribution to the CPIF monthly rate came from rising housing costs, mainly due to increased electricity prices. The group “Imputed rent for owner occupiers” also made upward contributions, in part from rising timber prices.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose from June to July, in part due to increased coffee prices, leading to an upward contribution of the monthly rate. Following decreased prices in June, other price increases on Midsummer food, such as potatoes by weight rebounded, which is seasonally normal. Prices on the operation of personal transport equipment increased from June to July, mainly due to rising fuel prices.
Package holidays also made an upward contribution. The weight of package holidays has decreased compared with 2020, which means the contribution from package holidays was less extensive, despite large price increases.
Falling prices on clothing and dental care partially offset the upward contribution to the monthly change.
The table below shows changes on a monthly basis and contributions to the CPIF based on the goods and services that had the greatest impact on the CPIF in July 2021. The results are presented by COICOP category. COICOP refers to the United Nations classification of household consumption expenditure.
| Category (Coicop) | Monthly changes, percent |
Contribution to CPIF Monthly change, percentage points |
|---|---|---|
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages (01) | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| Non-alcoholic beverages (01.2) | 4.1 | 0.1 |
| Clothing (03.1) | ‑4.4 | ‑0.1 |
| Electricity (04.5.1) | 5.0 | 0.2 |
| Imputed rent for owner occupiers (04.x) | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| Dental sevices (06.2.2) | ‑16.6 | ‑0.1 |
| Fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment (07.2.2) | 3.0 | 0.1 |
| Package holidays (09.6) | 41.2 | 0.1 |
Seasonal patterns and temporary price changes
Price changes on goods and services may be seasonal or temporary. The figure above shows the monthly changes this year and in the two most recent years for the goods and services with the largest impact on the CPIF monthly change.
Prices on food and non-alcoholic beverages increased in July this year, which is seasonally normal. Prices on non-alcoholic beverages, which includes coffee, increased slightly more from June to July this year compared to the last two years. Since food and non-alcoholic beverages account for a fairly large proportion of the basket, this small increase in prices still had an impact on the monthly change.
Electricity prices increased in July, as they did in July 2019, unlike July 2020 when electricity prices fell. In July this year, prices on dental care fell, which is seasonally normal and the same pattern is present in the two previous years.
Fuel prices increased somewhat more in July this year compared with the corresponding period in the last two years.
The monthly change from June to July 2021 for package holidays was higher than in the same period in the last two years. In July 2020, package holidays were calculated in a different way, since the prices were fully imputed using the year-on-year change in non-imputed product groups. This is in contrast to July 2021, when no imputations were made.
Prices for accommodation services increased slightly more this year than in 2020. In July 2019, these prices fell.
Contribution to the inflation rate in July
The inflation rate according to the CPIF, that is, the change in the CPIF over the past 12-month period, was 1.7 percent in July 2021, up from 1.6 percent in June.
The inflation rate was mainly affected by rising housing costs, in which higher electricity prices was the key driver. Furthermore, in the group “Imputed rent for owner occupiers”, upward contributions came, in part, from rising timber prices.
Prices for transport, in particular fuel prices, and clothing and footwear also rose. Although prices for clothing fell from June to July, the annual change remained positive. In accommodation services, rising prices on hotels and holiday villages resulted in upward contributions.
These were offset by falling prices on audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment, package holidays and communication.
The inflation rate according to the CPIF excluding energy was 0.5 percent in July, down from 0.9 percent in June.
| Category (Coicop) | Yearly change, percent | Contribution yearly change CPIF percentage points |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing and footwear (03) | 3.7 | 0.2 |
| Housing (04) | 5.8 | 1.4 |
| Electricity (04.5.1) | 24.7 | 0.8 |
| Fuel (07.2.2) | 16.4 | 0.4 |
| Communication (08.2) | ‑14.3 | ‑0.2 |
| Audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment (09.1) | ‑11.7 | ‑0.3 |
| Package holidays (09.6) | ‑6.9 | ‑0.3 |
| Accomodation services (11.2) | 7.5 | 0.1 |
Other measures of inflation
Statistics Sweden calculates different inflation measures for different purposes. The CPIF is the Riksbank’s target variable, while the CPI is the measure used for purposes of compensation.
Effects of the coronavirus pandemic on calculations
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, some services in the CPIF basket were unavailable for consumers to purchase in July. As in previous months, prices for these services have been imputed. The share of imputed prices was 0.13 percent in July. For further information, see the document “Special imputations during the coronavirus pandemic”.
Definitions and explanations
The CPIF shows the same price trend as the CPI, but without the direct effects of a changed monetary policy. The CPIF is the Riksbank’s target variable for the inflation target.
The CPIF excluding energy (CPIF-XE) and the CPIF with constant tax (CPIF-CT) are two other measures of inflation produced by Statistics Sweden on behalf of the Riksbank. In the CPIF-XE, energy products are excluded from the CPIF, while in the CPIF-CT the taxes and subsidies associated with the products in the CPIF are kept constant.
The HICP (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices) is produced by all EU Member States. This measure has a somewhat smaller coverage than the CPI and the CPIF, mainly because parts of households’ housing costs are omitted.
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