OSLO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Food prices in Norway increased by 13.7 percent year-on-year in June, contributing significantly to the overall high inflation rate, Statistics Norway (SSB) said on Monday.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 6.4 percent in June compared to the same period last year.

"It is unusual for food prices to increase so much in the month of June. This means that the twelve-month growth in food prices increased in June from an already high level in May," Espen Kristiansen, section manager at the SSB, said in a press release.

The key drivers behind this surge were the higher prices of fruits and vegetables.

Kristiansen said that some of the rise in June was due to the weakened Norwegian krone. "The prices of imported agricultural goods rose clearly more than those of Norwegian agricultural goods," he said.

Last month, Norges Bank, Norway's central bank, increased the policy rate by 0.5 percentage points to 3.75 percent following markedly high inflation in the country.

In August 2021, the interest rate was 0 percent in Norway. Since then, it has been raised several times. The central bank also suggested further rate hikes. Enditem

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