beyonce has won a record Grammy Award, is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, and is on a sold-out, record-breaking world tour.
But Queen Bey, as she is well known to her many fans, is now considered the most unlikely achievement, according to an economic expert who says she is partly responsible for Sweden’s stubbornly high inflation.
fest in progress Renaissance World Tour Kicks off May 10-11 at the National Arena in Stockholm with fans Flying from America And the rest of the world saw it, partly because of the lower price and partly out of sheer excitement.
The resulting spike in hotel prices and other fees paid by fans was part of a weaker-than-expected 0.2% drop in Swedish inflation figures for May, said Michael Grahn, chief economist at Danske Bank in Sweden. reason.
He told NBC News: “Maybe it’s not all about her because there are other incidents going on, but when you think about why, she’s the prime suspect.”
“It’s not sudden either. We heard a month ago that her fans’ accommodation is difficult, and hotel prices have risen. It seems a reasonable guess.”
Sweden’s annual inflation rate, excluding energy costs, fell 0.2% from April to May, from 8.4% to 8.2%. official statistics show – The decline was smaller than economists had expected, partly due to an increase in hotel and restaurant spending in May. Economists had forecast inflation would hit 7.8% in May.
Grahn explained Thursday that one of the reasons it fell short of that goal was the influx of foreign Beyoncé fans into Sweden, which has a population of 10.4 million and North Carolina’s population of nearly 9 million.
american fans are Facing a price tag of up to $900 For a trip to the U.S., prompting some to seek cheaper options in Europe.
With all these fans flooding the country, other countries “have more accommodation to deal with,” Grahn said.
“When there’s a lot of foreign demand coming into Sweden, it can happen because people expect Sweden to be cheap — concert tickets and everything else are cheap for foreigners — and that can push prices up.”
Bruce Springsteen performed three nights at the end of the month in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, a much smaller city than Stockholm, raising concerns about a similar economic impact.
A representative for Beyonce could not immediately be reached for comment.
However, not everyone is convinced of her market push.
James Pomeroy, global economist at HSBC, said that while the 8.7% month-on-month increase in accommodation costs in May was in line with Beyoncé’s explanation, the cost of food, travel packages and pets across the country also contributed to the annual increase. figure.
“So while Beyoncé may be a shock to the data for a month, she is not the reason Swedish inflation is well above the central bank’s target,” he said.
Marcus Widén, an economist at Nordic corporate bank SEB Group, said spending on entertainment and hotels was high in May, but not enough to be a historical outlier.
“In terms of hotels, I was out traveling in May and did notice the prices were high, but it wasn’t in Stockholm. So while Beyoncé could be a big boost, I think it’s a big push for the industry. There is generally strong pressure in May,” he said.
Like many European countries, Sweden has since faced sharp inflation and higher household costs Russia’s Ukraine invasion disrupts wholesale energy market and distribution network.
The European Union’s statistics agency confirmed this week that EU countries that use the euro currency have slipped into recession, with gross domestic product falling 0.1 percent in the final three months of last year and the first three months of this year.
However, in order to keep the krona, Sweden voted not to adopt the euro in 2003.Plus, it has withstood the Covid pandemic better than some of its neighborsin part by keeping businesses and public buildings open.
As for Grahn, he doesn’t expect to continue to interest Beyoncé fans or the world’s media. Nor would he describe himself as a fan of hers.
“No, I’m probably too old to be one of her fans,” he laughs.
“It’s a bit unusual, I’m used to being quoted in the Swedish press on things like economics, but not on this scale. Well, of course it’s fine – I guess it’s a one-off and they’ll forget about me pretty quickly.”