Food and energy prices rocket as Danish inflation hits 40-year high
Prices for consumers have increased in Denmark by 6.7 percent across the last 12 months.
The costs paid by consumers in Denmark last month were 6.7 percent higher than prices in April 2021, according to new data released by national agency Statistics Denmark on Tuesday.
The 6.7 percent increase is the largest jump in prices since 1984.
Electricity, fuel, gas and food are the goods categories pulling that figure upwards the most, meaning the prices of these are likely to have increased even more than the average.
Spiralling prices are now beginning to have a real effect on household finances, an analyst said.
“Ouch, this is really hurting the wallets of Danes. We are talking about the biggest price rises since 1984,” senior economist with Arbejdernes Landsbank, Jeppe Juul Borre, told news wire Ritzau in a written comment.
“Calculated in kroner, a family with children must now spend around 30,000 kroner more to maintain the same annual consumption as a year ago. That is a seriously big chunk into a family’s household budget,” he said.
“Inflation is no longer something primarily only talked about, but something Danes actually feel when grocery shopping,” he said.
Sub-groups of products are more affected by inflation than others, meaning the price increases will not have an even impact, according to Danske Bank consumer economist Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen.
Food has increased in price by 7.7 percent when comparing April 2021 to last month.
There are also signs of prices beginning to increase in other products and services categories.
Although external factors such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and high energy costs are a large part of the explanation for inflation in Denmark, there are also signs of a broader trend, Hansen told Ritzau.
“If we peel off energy, unprocessed foods and taxes to measure the level in the economy of prices not directly imported by global conditions or tax increases, we land on 3.6 percent,” she said.
“That is very high and now beats the record from 2008, just before the economy collapsed following a massive overheating,” she stated in an analysis.
Despite the apparently concerning situation, Danske Bank says it expects inflation to have peaked in April.
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The costs paid by consumers in Denmark last month were 6.7 percent higher than prices in April 2021, according to new data released by national agency Statistics Denmark on Tuesday.
The 6.7 percent increase is the largest jump in prices since 1984.
Electricity, fuel, gas and food are the goods categories pulling that figure upwards the most, meaning the prices of these are likely to have increased even more than the average.
Spiralling prices are now beginning to have a real effect on household finances, an analyst said.
“Ouch, this is really hurting the wallets of Danes. We are talking about the biggest price rises since 1984,” senior economist with Arbejdernes Landsbank, Jeppe Juul Borre, told news wire Ritzau in a written comment.
“Calculated in kroner, a family with children must now spend around 30,000 kroner more to maintain the same annual consumption as a year ago. That is a seriously big chunk into a family’s household budget,” he said.
“Inflation is no longer something primarily only talked about, but something Danes actually feel when grocery shopping,” he said.
Sub-groups of products are more affected by inflation than others, meaning the price increases will not have an even impact, according to Danske Bank consumer economist Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen.
Food has increased in price by 7.7 percent when comparing April 2021 to last month.
There are also signs of prices beginning to increase in other products and services categories.
Although external factors such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and high energy costs are a large part of the explanation for inflation in Denmark, there are also signs of a broader trend, Hansen told Ritzau.
“If we peel off energy, unprocessed foods and taxes to measure the level in the economy of prices not directly imported by global conditions or tax increases, we land on 3.6 percent,” she said.
“That is very high and now beats the record from 2008, just before the economy collapsed following a massive overheating,” she stated in an analysis.
Despite the apparently concerning situation, Danske Bank says it expects inflation to have peaked in April.
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