Swedish interest rates / Swedish inflation

interest rates
Thedéen on state finances: “It is important to warn in time”

Sweden has an “enormous position of strength” with low government debt, order in state finances and strong fiscal policy frameworks. But politicians have “started to ignore the framework”, says the Riksbank’s Erik Thedéen to SvD.

The Riksbank governor points out, among other things, that Sweden has borrowed to upgrade its defense.

– If we do that, we risk having worse state finances.

Ultimately, however, what is important is that Sweden is considered to have its finances in order from an international perspective, he adds.

He believes that Sweden is far from ending up in similar situations as other countries where the government debt is higher, but that it is important to “warn in time”. 

inflation
Thedéen: No idea to parry political measures

The situation is "extremely difficult to assess", which makes it prudent to leave the policy rate unchanged and at the same time flag for an increased probability of an increase. This was said by Riksbank Governor Erik Thedéen at the monetary policy meeting ahead of last week's interest rate announcement, according to the minutes.

He does not believe that the government's temporary measures that dampen inflation on fuel, for example, will have any major lasting effects on the underlying inflationary pressure. Therefore, he sees "no reason to use monetary policy to try to parry the jerky and transient effects on the rate of price increases that this type of measure gives rise to".

For this reason, the Riksbank Governor is also focusing on underlying inflation, he added.