Riksbank Cuts Rates as Krona Surge Threatens Export Growth

Sweden’s Riksbank cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since February, caving in to calls from exporters, as the krona’s strength and deepening euro crisis threaten the nation’s trade competitiveness.

The repo rate was cut by a quarter point to 1.25 percent, the Stockholm-based bank said today. The move was predicted by six of the 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, while the remainder forecast no change. The bank said the rate is expected to remain unchanged “until the middle of next year.”