Riksbank Raises Rate, Signals Faster Tightening

Sweden’s central bank raised its benchmark repo rate for a fifth time since July and signaled it will pick up the pace of monetary tightening to keep inflation and credit growth in check in Europe’s fastest-growing economy.

The Stockholm-based Riksbank raised the seven-day repo rate a quarter of a percentage point to 1.5 percent, it said today on its website. The decision was expected by all 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The bank also raised its rate path and now expects the repo to average 2.5 percent in the first quarter next year, compared with 2.2 percent previously.