Core Inflation Shows Riksbank Will Have a Hard Time Tightening

Inflation accelerated to target again in March, bringing relief for Swedish central bank policy makers but the core measure signaled policy makers could have a hard time raising interest rates this year as planned.

Underlying annual inflation accelerated to 2.0 percent in March from 1.7 percent in February, according to Statistics Sweden. The rate matched the Riksbank’s own forecast, but fell short of the 2.1 percent estimated by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The krona slid 0.5 percent to 10.3496 per euro.