Runaway inflation in the post-COVID world has meant a spike in the cost of little luxuries, including my ClassPass membership. Smart people say there are four reasons: supply-chain issues triggered by lockdowns of coronavirus waves past, steady consumer demand, and energy uncertainty. The fourth? Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour. A Danske Bank economist estimates that the chrome-gilded, Afrofuturist eighth wonder of the world (and sole reason I will venture to the wilds of New Jersey next month) contributed about 0.2 percent to inflation in Sweden, per Wall Street Journal. Michael Grahn, the number cruncher, calls the phenomenon a “Beyoncé blip,” a seismic event that occurred when fans made their pilgrimage to Stockholm for the May 10 and 11 tour kickoff shows, causing runaway hotel prices across the metropolitan area. “This is very rare,” Grahn says. “Basically, her fans vacuumed hotels around Stockholm with a radius of some 40 miles,” bidding up hotel rates. Another person adept at math, Statistics Sweden’s price statistician Carl Mårtensson, says the blip “should not have had any significant impact” on Sweden’s inflation, though. Whatever the effects of Beyoncé’s small disruption on the Swedish economy, it was likely worth it to fans who saw the debut of her couture costumes. Of course that custom David Koma holographic minidress, her shimmering Loewe faux-nude bodysuit, and the sterling Courrèges leotard fit for the “Alien Superstar” herself made even the economy gasp.