Account of Monetary Policy 2021 – Support for the recovery in the pandemic
News The coronavirus pandemic continued to have a marked impact on economic developments during 2021. The sharp fall in GDP from the start of the pandemic was recovered and the employment rate rose to the same level as before the pandemic. CPIF inflation rose rapidly during the year, mainly due to higher energy prices, and was over 4 per cent at the end of the year. Disregarding energy prices, inflation was close to the target of 2 per cent. Monetary policy aimed at creating good conditions for an inflation rate more persistently close to the target. Given the extraordinary disturbances that the world economy experienced during the pandemic, the target fulfilment should be considered acceptable.
The measures taken by the Riksbank have kept interest rates low for households and companies and ensured a functioning supply of credit. In this way, the Riksbank has contributed to good economic development and expansionary financial conditions. During autumn 2021, financial conditions were assessed to be so stable that the Riksbank could begin to phase out some of the crisis measures. Read more about the monetary policy conducted last year in the report Account of Monetary Policy.
Asset purchases - part of the successful management of the economic crisis
The report contains a separate article on the Riksbank's asset purchases, the motives for them and experiences so far. The coronavirus pandemic has been a strain on the economy, but the recovery has exceeded many analysts’ expectations. Measures taken by the Riksdag and the Government, the Riksbank and other authorities contributed to averting a financial crisis and, with the support of an expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, the economic situation gradually improved during 2021. From this perspective, overall crisis management has been successful. It is, however, difficult to determine the significance of individual measures. Given the objectives of the asset purchase programme, the Riksbank’s assessment is that the purchases have fulfilled their function and that they have contributed to limiting the harmful effects of the pandemic on the Swedish economy.
Evaluation of the Riksbank’s forecasts
The Riksbank Study Evaluation of the Riksbank's forecasts is a complement to the Account of Monetary Policy. It describes economic developments over the year in relation to the Riksbank's forecasts, and contains an evaluation of the Riksbank's forecasts in relation to those of other analysts.
ACCOUNT OF MONETARY POLICY
Every year, the Riksdag Committee on Finance examines and assesses the monetary policy conducted by the Riksbank during the preceding years. The Account of Monetary Policy provides a basis for this assessment.