The yearly inflation rate according to the consumer price index (CPI) was down from 4.1 percent in January, according to number crunchers Statistics Sweden. Experts had predicted an inflation rate of 4.0 percent, according to Bloomberg.
Inflation measured instead according to the CPIF metric the consumer price index with interest rate fluctuations taken out of the equation meanwhile rose slightly from 2.2 to 2.3 percent. However, that still beats expectations, which had predicted CPIF inflation of 2.4 percent.
That puts it slightly above the Riksbank's inflation target of two percent, and experts predicted that Wednesday's inflation news strengthened the likelihood that the bank will cut interest rates further.
If bank interest rates are high, it's expensive to borrow money, which means people spend less and as a result inflation drops. But now that inflation appears to be holding relatively steady around the two percent target, it means that the bank might be able to start lowering the policy rate yet again.
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