Minutes of the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 26 October 2011
At the Monetary Policy Meeting on 26 October, the Executive Board of the Riksbank decided to hold the repo rate unchanged at 2 per cent. The Executive Board also decided to wait before making further increases in the repo rate until some time next year. This repo-rate path is expected to contribute to stabilising inflation around the target of 2 per cent and resource utilisation around a normal level.
The decision was made against the background of the monetary policy discussion. The conclusions from the discussion are that the concern over public finance problems in both the United States and Europe are expected to subdue developments in the Swedish economy. So far, the main effect on Sweden has been a decline in confidence among households and companies. Household consumption is expected to increase more slowly, which will also lead to weaker developments in the Swedish economy in the coming period. As the uncertainty declines and confidence returns, the Swedish economy is expected to grow at a more normal rate and resource utilisation is expected to rise. Underlying inflationary pressures are currently low. However, as resource utilisation rises, this will put pressure on inflation.
Deputy Governors Karolina Ekholm and Lars E.O. Svensson entered a reservation against the decision to hold the repo rate unchanged and against the repo-rate path in the Monetary Policy Report.
You can read the full minutes of the monetary policy meeting held on 26 October in the attached PDF file.
