Danish Inflation Jumps in January After Weak Ending to 2018

(Bloomberg) -- Danish inflation accelerated in January to its highest rate since November 2017 after a series of weak readings in the final quarter of last year.

The consumer price index jumped to 1.3 percent from a year earlier, up from 0.8 percent in December, the Copenhagen-based statistics agency said Monday.

Key Insights

• Annual inflation had remained steady at 0.8 percent during the final three months of 2018; the monthly rate rose 0.2 percent in January after falling in November and December.
• Statistics Denmark said the main reason for January’s increase was higher food prices
• As of January, the TV license is no longer included in Denmark’s basket of consumer prices; the change ensures consistency with European Union data

What Economists Say

• Tore Stramer at Nykredit says inflation remains weak considering Denmark is experiencing a “moderate boom” (the forecast is for a rate of 1.5 percent in 2019). This has boosted real incomes, with average Danish household’s purchasing power increasing by about DKK 7,500 ($1,140) over the past year.

Get More

• For more details on inflation, see this table.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Rigillo in Copenhagen at nrigillo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net

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