Food prices rose 3.3 percent from March to April – E24

After the Easter deals in March, many expected food and drink prices to rise in April.

Case updated.

The latest figures from Statistics Norway show food prices rose 3.3 percent from March to April.

Overall, price growth in April ended at 3.6 percent compared to the same month last year.

read more: Hence, the interest rate can be raised (+)

Food prices followed two consecutive months of declines prior to April.

In a press release, Statistics Norway writes that this is “an unusually high price increase in April”.

– The increase should be seen on the back of large discount campaigns related to Easter which reduced prices in March. Now we're getting the effect of rising prices again, says Statistics Norway's head of division Espen Kristiansen in a press release.

Fruit and chocolate

Product groups that are much higher in price include chocolate, coffee, and various citrus fruits.

Many economists expected food prices to rise earlier because Easter ended in March.

It is common for promotional campaigns to contribute to lower food prices around Easter.

Food prices have increased by 6.8 percent compared to April last year. The rise in prices of chocolate, fruits and various types of soft drinks contributed to the higher price growth, writes SSB.

Two percent is the target

Core inflation, which Norges Bank looks at most when setting interest rates, ended at 4.4 percent last month.

Inflation is the main reason why Norges Bank has hiked interest rates sharply in recent years. It is still a long way from the central bank's target of a sustainable inflation rate of two percent, but recent price growth has calmed down more than the bank expected.

– Price growth declined for the fourth consecutive month in April. Prices are still higher than they were at the same time last year for most goods and services, but they're generally rising more slowly than before, says Christiansen.