In Europe’s relentless battle against inflation, another culprit has clearly emerged: Beyoncé.
When the star kicked off his world tour in Stockholm last month, hotel prices skyrocketed as fans flocked from all over the world to catch the show. This could partly explain why Swedish inflation was higher than expected in May.
Swedish consumer prices rose 9.7% last month The year-on-year change was on a year-on-year basis, the country’s statistical office, Statistics Sweden, said on Wednesday. It was down from 10.5% last month but slightly above economists’ expectations.
Danske Bank economist Michael Grahn said Beyoncé’s tour start may have “colored” inflation figures. “I don’t know how much” he wrote on twitterBut this could account for most of the 0.3 percentage points that restaurant and hotel prices added to the monthly inflation rise.
Prices for restaurants and hotels rose 3.3% in May, while prices for recreational and cultural activities and clothing also rose.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, her first solo tour since 2016, kicked off in Stockholm on May 10 with two nights in a 50,000-capacity arena. Fans from all over the world flew in to buy cheaper tickets than, for example, the US or UK, taking advantage of favorable exchange rates.
Grahn said in an email that he doesn’t blame Beyoncé for the high inflation, but that “the global demand to see her perform and perform in Sweden seems to have spurred it a bit.” .
He added that the depreciation of the Swedish krona would have made air tickets cheaper, further boosting demand. “But the main impact on inflation came from the fact that all the fans needed a place to stay,” he said, adding that fans occupied rooms 40 miles away. However, the impact will be short-lived as prices return this month.
It’s a “very rare” effect, but Sweden has seen this kind of inflationary effect on hotel prices in the 2017 football cup final when foreign teams played in the country, he said.
“So, while it’s rare, it’s not unprecedented,” Grahn said.
Statistician Karl Martensson of the Swedish Statistics Office said: “It may have had an impact on Stockholm hotel prices during the week Beyoncé played here.” But he added: “It would not have had a material impact on Swedish inflation in May.”
