“Lower food prices reduced the inflation rate in August, but were partly offset by higher prices for electricity and fuels,” says Frida Stark, statistician at Statistic Sweden. 

In brief

Monthly change since July 2026

• Seasonal price increases were noted among clothing.
• Prices on package holidays were lower in August, which is normal for the season.
• Fuel prices increased from July to August where prices for diesel contributed the most.
• Electricity prices rose in August.

12-month change since August 2025

• Prices on restaurant visits increased during the past year.
• Food prices were lower in August this year.
• Package holidays were more expensive this year compared to the same month last year. 

Higher electricity prices in August

The total price development from July to August was a decrease by 0.3 percent. In the corresponding period last year, prices decreased by 0.4 percent.

The general price development fell from July to August which was mainly affected by seasonal price decreases on package holidays.

The decrease in prices was counteracted by higher prices for both electricity and fuels, where diesel contributed the most. During the same period prices for clothing rose as well, which is normal for the season.

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 August 2026. The results are presented by COICOP category. COICOP refers to the United Nations classification of household consumption expenditure. 

Contributions to the inflation rate in August

The inflation rate according to the CPI, that is, the change in the CPI from the corresponding month last year, was 0.3 percent in August. This was an increase from July when the inflation rate was 0.2 percent.

During the last 12 months, prices for both bar and restaurant visits as well as package holidays have increased. Fuel prices also increased during the past year, where prices on diesel have risen by 18 percent. Also, rents for rental apartments were higher than a year ago, as well as prices for electricity. Costs for maintenance and repair of owner-occupied housing rose as well.

The overall price incline was partly offset by prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages where prices for milk, eggs and other dairy products decreased the most.

The inflation rate according to the CPIF, which unlike the CPI is not affected by changes in interest rates on household mortgages, remained unchanged at 0.7 percent in August. The inflation rate for the CPIF calculated excluding energy (CPIF-XE) was 0.5 percent in August, which can be compared with 0.6 percent in July.

The table below shows the 12-month changes and contributions to the CPI based on the goods and services that had the greatest impact on the CPI in August 2026. The results are presented by COICOP category. COICOP refers to the United Nations classification of household consumption expenditure. 

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.

Statistics Sweden reverts to a previous data source for flight tickets 

In connection with the CPI for January 2026, Statistics Sweden started to use a new data source for flights (COICOP class 07.3.3 Passenger transport by air). In the spring, Statistics Sweden was informed that the data source will be discontinued in July 2026. For more information, see:

Change of data source for flights (pdf)

Updated classification and reference year for the Swedish CPI

As from January 2026 the Swedish CPI changed reference year, from 1980 to 2020. At the same time the classification was updated from COICOP 1999 to COICOP 2018. More information is available here:

Updated classification and reference year for the Swedish CPI

Statistics Sweden has carried out an analysis of how the rate of change figures are affected by the classification change. The effects are considered to be small. If the classification change would have taken place already last year, the 12-month change in August 2026 for the CPI would have been 0.02 percentage points higher. For the CPIF, CPIF-XE and HICP, the corresponding calculation shows that the 12-month change in August 2026 would have been 0.02, 0.05 and 0.01 percentage points higher. Statistics Sweden will follow up the effects of the changed classification throughout 2026.

For more methodological information, see:

Impact analysis for COICOP 2018 (Swedish)

Changes for users retrieving data via the API

In the autumn of 2025, PxWebApi v1 was replaced by the new PxWebApi v2. PxWebApi v1 will remain operational until the turn of the year 2026/2027, after which it will no longer be available. For further information and guidance on the transition, see:

PXWebAPI v2

Upcoming publication dates

CPI flash estimate

2026-10-07 at 8.00 am.

Ordinary publication

2026-10-14 at 8.00 am.