Executive Board in the Committee on Finance'shearing on monetary policy in 2024

After two relatively dramatic years, with the highest inflation since the 1990s and a change in firms' pricing behaviour, underlying inflation remained high in early 2024. The geopolitical turmoil implied a risk of new supply disruptions, and there was a discussion in the rest of the world that it might be difficult to bring inflation down “the last mile”.  

“As a decision-maker, one has to constantly navigate an environment full of uncertainty and risk. In the first half of 2024, the risks of continued elevated inflation were tangible. We nevertheless began to ease monetary policy in the spring –earlier than many other central banks.” 

Annual average CPIF inflation was 1.9 per cent and long-term inflation expectations were close to 2 per cent. The Riksbank assesses that target fulfilment was good in 2024.

“The fact that inflation stabilised close to our target is, in my view, an indication that the monetary policy we pursued in 2023 and 2024 was reasonable and well-balanced.”

During the year, the Executive Board repeatedly emphasised the value of adjusting monetary policy gradually.  

“Acting gradually does not mean being hesitant or passive. As the inflation outlook became more stable and the risks of a weaker real economy increased, we cut the policy rate at an increasingly rapid pace, by a total of 1.5 percentage points by the end of the year.”

Mr Thedéen said that it had proved to be a wise strategy to act gradually, also given that uncertainty abroad increased sharply at the beginning of 2025 and that inflation in Sweden was slightly higher than expected.