MNI BRIEF: Riksbank Minutes Show Readiness To Hike If Need Be

The minutes of the Riksbank Executive Board's March meeting show members underscoring their willingness to act if higher inflation were to show signs of becoming entrenched but all of them endorsed a central scenario under which the policy rate flatlines at 2.25 per cent.

Governor Erik Theeden said  "If we see signs of a lasting and broad rise in the rate of price increase, we will not hesitate to act" while Deputy Governor Per Jansson said that while he thought it unlikely that the policy rate would need to be raised in the near term he would back decisive action if need be. (see MNI INTERVIEW: Rapid Rate Move Up More Plausible-Riksbank Head )

The board members all acknowledged the high uncertainty at present. The minutes showed that the committee is fairly united in favour of awaiting developments and holding steady for now with Deputy Governor Anna Seim summing thing up by stating that "an unchanged policy rate and a flat path are attractive in an environment where uncertainty is so comprehensive that a substantial share of the information reaching us is noise."