In February, the annual rate of price increase was 1.7 percent according to the CPIF measure.
Economists had on average expected inflation of 2.2 percent, but instead it fell to 1.6 percent.
What lies behind the falling inflation is the falling electricity prices in March compared to earlier in the year, lower food prices thanks to lower dairy prices, but also fuel prices.
– Fuel prices rose sharply in March and had the biggest price change since the 90s, but were countered by a large drop in electricity prices, says Mikael Nordin, price statistician at Statistics Sweden.
High fuel prices counteract falling inflation
The price reductions thus continue to be counteracted by rising fuel prices, which rose by around 20 percent in March. Among fuels, it was diesel prices that rose the most, with almost 30 percent. Gasoline prices rose by around 15 percent.
The sharply rising fuel prices during March led to prices being 16 percent higher compared to the corresponding month last year, according to Statistics Norway. Electricity prices were higher than last year, even though electricity prices fell sharply since February, resulting in the general price increase.
