Danish inflation hits record 62-year low

Inflation in Denmark is at its lowest level in 62 years, data from the country's national statistical agency showed Monday.

From 2014 to 2015, Denmark's average inflation rates rose 0.5 percent, the smallest gain for a calendar year since 1953, when it registered a fall of 0.5 percent on an annual basis, according to Danmarks Statistik.

The agency explained that the reason the inflation gain was so low was due to "categories which are not included in the underlying inflation rate that keep the annual rise in the overall index down."

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the underlying inflation rose 1.2 percent over the past year.

Analysts here believe that it is an expression of the aftermath of the financial crisis, where growth in the Danish economy in recent years has been rather modest.

"Wage increases in Denmark have been very low in recent years. With low wage increases, there is a tendency for companies not to raise the prices of their products very much," Jacob Graven, chief economist at Denmark's Sydbank, was quoted by Danish news agency Ritzau as saying.

He added that the modest price increase was not just good news for the Danish household, but also for the Danish economy, as it can help promote consumption and thus push the fledgling economic recovery forward.

Figures also showed that Denmark's year-on-year consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in December compared to a 0.3-percent increase in November.

In 2015, the education index registered the sharpest price rise of 3.2 percent, mainly due to it becoming more expensive to go to private school, while the communication index had the largest price drop of 3.4 percent. Endit