Food and beverage prices were up 3.3% in Norway in July, compared to the previous month, new data from Statistics Norway has shown.
The data also found that food and beverage prices were 2.2% higher in July compared to the same month last year.
Food prices alone saw an increase of 3.7% on a month-to-month basis, driven by increases in the cost of meat, dairy and confectionery.
'The rise in food prices can be seen in connection with the fact that July is a month in which suppliers normally adjust their prices,' Statistics Norway said.
'In addition, July 1 is the time when changes in target prices negotiated in agricultural settlements enter into force. Overall, prices of Norwegian agricultural products showed an increase of 2.9%, while prices of imported agricultural products rose by 1.9% during the period.'
Non-alcoholic beverages reported a 'modest' increase, the statistics body added, due to tax reductions implemented on 1 July.
Overall Index
Overall, consumer prices rose 0.7% in July on a month-to-month basis, and 1.3% on a yearly basis, Statistics Norway said.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco were up 0.6% month-on-month (and +2.9% compared to July 2019), with furniture/household items rising by 1.0% (+7.5%), health care up 0.4% (+3.5%) and transport up 1.5% (+2.5%).
The biggest decline in prices was seen in the clothing and footwear sector, which saw a month-on-month decline of 2.8% in July, however prices in this segment were up 2.1% on a yearly basis.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
