Pop icon Beyonce speaking at an event (AFP)

Some analysts speculated that pop icon Beyonce may have been responsible for inflation in Sweden dipping below 10% in May in coincidence with her concert in Stockholm, despite it remaining higher than expected.

"Continued decrease in electricity and food prices contributed to the lower inflation rate in May," Mikael Nordin, a statistician at Statistics Sweden, said in a statement.

As for the contributing factors to the increase in prices, it can be attributed to "a broad set of goods and services, such as hotel and restaurant visits" and "recreational services," which include concert tickets.

As such, a visit by Beyonce to Stockholm could explain the unexpected rise, according to Michael Grahn, chief economist for Sweden at Danske Bank.

"Beyonce's start of her world tour in Sweden seems to have colored May inflation, how much is uncertain," Grahn posted on a social media platform.

Grahn went on to say that her much-hyped concert in May "probably" accounted for 0.2 of the 0.3 percentage points added to inflation by hotel and restaurant prices.

It is worth noting that the two shows that launched Beyonce's first solo tour in seven years attracted tens of thousands of admirers to Stockholm in the middle of May.

Large cultural and sporting events may momentarily increase hotel and restaurant costs in the area, but they rarely have an impact on overall inflation rates.

Hotel rates in Paris increased by 4.3% in May due to the French capital's hosting of the Roland-Garros tennis tournament's opening week, as well as another Beyoncé performance on May 26.