Swedish Riksbank Takes First Step Toward Exiting Record Stimulus
- Policy makers end formal QE and will reinvest redemptions
- Swedish central bank has battled to lift inflation to target
A Riksbank banner flies outside the headquarters of the Swedish central bank in Stockholm, Sweden
Photographer: Johan JeppssonThis article is for subscribers only.
Sweden’s central bank formally ended a program of bond purchases after almost three years, but pledged support for the nation’s debt market into 2019 in a step designed to ensure a smooth retreat from record stimulus.
In the Stockholm-based Riksbank’s last meeting of 2017, policy makers kept their key interest rate unchanged at minus 0.5 percent, as expected by analysts. While bond purchases will officially end, the bank said it plans to reinvest as much as 65 billion kronor ($7.8 billion) in returns and front-load investments from maturing debt. The krona rose as much as 0.5 percent to 9.91 per euro as of 10:42 a.m. in Stockholm.