Erik Thedéen: Committee on Finance hearing on monetary policy
On Tuesday, the entire Executive Board took part in an open hearing at the Committee on Finance about the Riksbank's operations and its Annual Report for 2023, as well as current monetary policy. Governor Erik Thedéen began the hearing by summarising the past year and noted that a great deal has happened at the Riksbank and abroad that has had an impact on operations.
Date: 12/03/2024 09:00
Speaker: Governor Erik Thedéen
Place: The Committee on Finance
“2023 was characterised by high inflation, which had a very negative impact on households and companies. Our focus has been to bring inflation down within a reasonable period of time. We have also needed to respond to the deteriorating geopolitical and security situation and we have come a long way with our new task of ensuring that payments will function during peacetime crisis situations and in a state of heightened alert. We have also implemented a number of measures to reduce the risk on the Riksbank’s balance sheet.”
The second part of the hearing focused on current monetary policy. Mr Thedéen began by summarising the Executive Board's latest monetary policy decision in February.
“Inflation has fallen in recent months and is on firmer ground. Our assessment is therefore that the interest rate appears to have peaked. If the prospects for inflation remain favourable, we cannot rule out the possibility of the policy rate being cut during the first half of the year. Our next monetary policy meeting is in three weeks’ time. Prior to that, we will weigh up all the new information and make a new assessment of what monetary policy is appropriate to achieve low and stable inflation in Sweden.”