“We have noticed that fuel prices have risen since May last year and are the main contributor to the inflation rate this month.” says Caroline Neander, statistician at Statistic Sweden.

In brief

Monthly change since April 2026

• Prices of package holidays increased from April to May.
• Electricity prices increased by 10.6 percent in from April to May.

12-month change since May 2025

• Food prices fell by 6.3 percent.
• Electricity prices were 15 percent higher than last year.
• Fuel prices rose by 27 percent in the past year.

Rising electricity prices in May

The total price development from April to May was an increase by 1.0 percent. In the corresponding period last year, prices increased by 0.1 percent.

Prices for package holidays increased by 26 percent from April to May. Interest costs for owner occupied one and two dwelling buildings rose and so did electricity prices. In addition, accommodation services went up in price. Costs of passenger transport services rose, where the price of international flights, passenger services by railway and passenger transport by sea contributed the most.

The price increases were offset by lower fuel prices, where diesel prices fell the most. Food prices also fell where vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, cauliflowers and broccolis were among the goods that fell the most in price.

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 May 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 May

The inflation rate according to the CPI, that is, the change in the CPI from the corresponding month last year, was 0.8 percent in May. This was an increase from April when the inflation rate was -0.1 percent.

Energy prices were the main contributors to the inflation rate, with fuel prices increasing by 27 percent and electricity prices increasing by 15 percent. In addition, rents for rental apartments remained at a higher level than one year ago. Furthermore, there were costs for depreciation, owner-occupied one- and two dwelling buildings that increased in price. Moreover, prices for restaurant visits and package holidays rose.

The main contributor to the price decrease was food prices, which fell by 6.2 percent. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, as well as sugar, sweets and desserts were the food items that fell the most in price. As in previous months, interest expenses were lower than last year.  

Prices for dental services declined, which mainly can be explained by a new subsidy for dental care. More specifically, as of the first of January 2026, the new subsidy applies to people who turn 67 years or older in 2026 and means that they pay 10 percent of the price for certain dental services.

The inflation rate according to the CPIF, which unlike the CPI is not affected by changes in interest rates on household mortgages, was 1.5 percent in May, up from 0.8 percent in April.

The inflation rate for the CPIF calculated excluding energy (CPIF-XE), was 0.5 percent in May, which can be compared with 0.0 percent in April.

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.

New measure in the Statistical database

As from the publication of the May CPI, Statistics Sweden will publish the CPIF-XE-CT measure. The CPIF-XE-CT is a measure of the CPIF excluding energy and at constant taxes. Values can be found in the Statistical database.

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.  Further details on how this change will be reflected in the index calculation will be provided when the CPI for July is released on August 13, 2026.  

Change of data source for flights (pdf)

Proposal on lowered prices on 30-days tickets in the public transport

The government in Sweden has proposed a temporary government funding which enables the regions in Sweden to lower the prices on 30-days tickets in the public transport by 50 percent during the period July-December 2026.

In the Swedish CPI the prices for public transport are included in the subclass 07.3.5.0 Combined passenger transport. The proposal would thereby affect this subclass as from July 2026.

In the Swedish CPI both the price for single tickets and different types of tickets for longer time periods are measured. This proposal does not require a special treatment in the CPI, the prices will be measured using the usual method. The share of 30-days tickets in the subclass is 44 percent.

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 May 2026 for the CPI would have been 0.01 percentage points higher. For the CPIF, CPIF-XE and the HICP, the corresponding calculation shows that the 12-month change in May 2026 would have been 0.01, 0.05 and 0.00 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

2026-07-08 at 8.00 am.

Ordinary publication

2026-07-15 at 8.00 am.