Sweden Producer Price Inflation Strongest Since Dec 2010

(RTTNews) - Sweden's producer price inflation accelerated for the third consecutive month in May to reach its highest level in more than four years, figures from Statistics Sweden showed Thursday.

The producer price index rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in May, faster than April's 1.6 percent increase. The latest climb was the fastest since December 2010, when prices gained 4.3 percent. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 1.1 percent in May.

At the same time, producer prices in the domestic market rose 0.7 percent annually in May and remained unchanged from the previous month.

The export price index surged 5.0 percent yearly in May, following a 3.4 percent increase seen in the previous month. It was also the sixth consecutive month of increase. The monthly rise was 2.2 percent, mainly due to a depreciation of the Swedish krona.

Import prices increased for the third successive month, up 4.7 percent annually, after a 2.2 percent rise in April. Prices rose 2.8 percent from the previous month, largely driven by higher crude oil prices.