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Danish inflation drops again but prices yet to fall

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Danish inflation drops again but prices yet to fall
Falling inflation in Denmark does not mean lower prices yet but there is cause for optimism. File photo: Kristian Djurhuus/Ritzau Scanpix

Inflation has fallen for the sixth consecutive month in Denmark after a high point was reached in October last year.

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New figures from Statistics Denmark show that April’s inflation measure – consumer price levels compared to a year ago – is 5.3 percent.

That means inflation has fallen from 6.7 Percent in March and is well down from last autumn, when it exceeded 10 percent.

Lower inflation is primarily a result of lower prices for electricity, food and gas, Statistics Denmark stated.

The difference between inflation in April and March is not an insignificant one, according to senior economist Jeppe Juul Borre of Arbejdernes Landsbank.

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“But falling inflation is not the same as falling prices. They’re just not going up as much as before,” he said in a written comment.

Prices of goods in April were 0.3 percent higher than they were in March, on average.

That means inflation is still putting strain on private finances in Denmark, although to a less degree than when the rate was higher.

The annual consumption of a statistically average family currently costs 26,000 kroner more than it did a year ago, according to Borre.

“But we are on the right course,” the economist said.

The measure of “core inflation” or kerneinflation also fell in April, to 6.1 percent compared to March’s 6.4 percent.

Core inflation is the inflation of prices excluding food and energy prices and is sometimes used by economists as a measure of how entrenched inflation has become in other areas of the economy. It was 7.4 percent in December and 7.3 percent in January.

Despite its apparent gradual decline, core inflation is still very high according to Borre.

“It shows that even though overall inflation is dwindling, price increases are broad in Danish consumption. We expect core inflation to continue falling belatedly,” he said.

“We expect that inflation will keep falling throughout 2023. Many things are pointing downwards and we see it as probable that food prices can fall at some point,” he said.

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