Food prices have risen sharply recently. You have to go back to the 80s to find something similar. – We think we have probably reached the top, says head of research SSB, Thomas von Brasch. At eight o’clock on Friday, Statistics Norway (SSB) updated the consumer price index. Inflation is now 6.3 per cent. In January, he was at 7 percent. Brasch believes the situation will now turn around. – Now I think we are at a turning point. Inflation must go down and unemployment must go up. He says that they expect an interest rate peak during the summer of 3.25 per cent. – The interest rate peak has not been reached yet, the interest rate will probably be raised in March, and further one more notch in June. Foreign influences Norges Bank wants to keep inflation stable over time. They have therefore raised the policy rate sharply in the past year. Today, the interest rate is 2.75 percent. It has helped to steer inflation downwards, says von Borsch. He says that prices in Norway are affected by what happens abroad because Norway is a small and open economy. – Last year, price growth here at home was lifted because prices rose internationally. Now the prices internationally are on the way down, and then the prices will also go down here at home. The interest rate hikes by Noregs Bank have also helped to drive down prices, says von Borsch. Food prices are falling At the start of the year, food prices were 12 per cent higher than in January last year. In February, the price increase decreased. They are now 8.8 per cent higher than at the same time last year. At the same time, several goods are still much more expensive than they were a year ago. It is usually in February and July that you see the biggest changes in food prices. The suppliers can then adjust their prices in line with the food chains. When news checked food prices at the beginning of February, the price of a can of light cream had increased by 20 per cent in one of the shops. Expected increase Overall, news’s survey showed that Coop Extra and Rema 1000 chose to set their prices on 1 February. Extra raise the prices by 10 percent on the selected items. Rema 1000 increased the prices by 8 per cent. A few days later, both decided to drop the prices again. Photo: PÅL TEGNANDER / news This reversal will not last long, said an economics professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) at the beginning of February. – Now it may be that the prices will rise gradually over time until the summer, because they have to cover these expenses, he told news. Director of Communications in Coop Norway, Bjørn Takle Friis, said that the price adjustment was something the chain could not strictly afford. Economics professor believes food prices will rise again: – They must cover the expenses Consumer Price Index (CPI) Shows how the prices of the goods and services that private households demand change. In other words, the CPI shows changes in the consumer prices of goods and services. The consumer price index is usually compared with consumption the previous year. The goods and services that accounted for the largest part of the household budget receive the greatest value. The CPI is often used as a measure of inflation. CPI adjusted for tax changes and without energy goods (CPI-JAE) can be used as an indicator of underlying development in consumer prices, or underlying inflation. Statistics Norway calculates the consumer price index. More discount stores The share of discount stores in the market continued to increase in 2022. At the same time as the number of grocery stores remained stable at 3,855, the share of discount stores increased. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB Butikkane Kiwi, Rema 1000, Coop Extra, Coop Prix and Bunnpris made up 69.9 per cent of the market last year. This is an increase of 1.1 per cent from the previous year.
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Food prices have increased less than feared – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
