Sweden's central bank keeps key interest rate at historic low
Xinhua, September 7, 2016 Adjust font size:
Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, left the repo rate unchanged at minus 0.50 percent Wednesday.
While inflation continues to rise in Sweden and the national economy is doing well, there is still great uncertainty around the world,the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
The bank singled out the June 23 British referendum on its European Union membership as a major cause of uncertainty in the global economic policy arena.
However, the bank asserted conditions in Sweden point to a continued rise in inflation and a drop in unemployment rates.
"Supported by the expansionary monetary policy, the Swedish economy has strengthened rapidly and activity is expected to continue to be strong over the next few years. Inflation has shown a rising trend since 2014 and is now just below 1.5 percent," the bank said.
The central bank also pointed to a potential slight rise in Sweden's repo rate in the second half of 2017, when inflation is expected to be at 2 percent. Endit