Deflation scares everyone and not even Sweden resists the need to bring down the cost of money. The Riksbank, Stockholm's central bank, today announced a cut in key refinancing rates from 0,25% to zero. The goal is to restart inflation, judged too low, and the institute announces that the monetary policy will not be modified in a restrictive sense until the price trend shows signs of recovery.
In September, the Swedish consumer price index fell to 0,4%, far from the inflation target, set at a lower but close to 2%, which Sweden has not reached since the beginning of 2012 .
The inflation target is the same one aimed at by the ECB for the Eurozone, but the analogies with the currency area stop there, considering the different growth prospects.
The Riksbank – which is the oldest central institution in the world and the fourth oldest bank among all those still in business – predicts that in 2014 Sweden's GDP will grow by 1,9%. And the estimate has been revised upwards from the previous +1,7%.
