Consumer prices in Sweden, measured with a fixed interest rate, rose 0.6 percent in December from the previous month and were up 2.3 percent from the same month last year, the statistics office (SCB) said on Monday.

Stripping out volatile energy prices, a measure the Riksbank is currently prioritising, inflation was 5.3%.

The central bank targets 2% headline inflation. It had forecast 2.1% headline inflation for the month at its most recent rate-setting meeting when it held the policy rate unchanged at 4.00%.

For inflation excluding energy, the Riksbank had a forecast of 5.6%.

Analysts had a forecast of 2.2% and 5.2% respectively.

In November, headline inflation was 3.6% compared to the same month a year earlier and excluding energy prices, 5.4%.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik)