Minutes of the Monetary Policy Meeting held on 19 September 2022
Inflation is too high. It is undermining households’ purchasing power and making it more difficult for households and companies to plan their finances. It is very important that monetary policy continues to act for inflation to fall back and stabilise at the target of 2 per cent within a reasonable time perspective. At its monetary policy meeting on 19 September, the Executive Board of the Riksbank decided to raise the policy rate by 1 percentage point to 1.75 per cent.
The members concluded that inflation has continued to rise rapidly, both in Sweden and abroad, and that central banks around the world have tightened their monetary policy. They noted that Swedish inflation had become higher than in the Riksbank’s forecast and that it was expected to continue rising for a further period.
The members said that the long-term inflation expectations had, at the same time, been relatively stable, and emphasised that it is important to safeguard confidence in the inflation target. Given that inflation has become higher than expected and that price increases are spreading broadly throughout the economy, the members were agreed that monetary policy needs to be tightened more than they assessed in June, and they supported the decision to raise the policy rate by 1 percentage point, from 0.75 to 1.75 per cent. Interest expenditure will increase for households and companies. However, the members considered that this cost must be weighed against the long-term gains, both for individual households and for the economy as a whole, of inflation falling back and becoming low and stable again.
All members supported the forecast for the policy rate, which entails continued raises over the coming six months. They were also careful to emphasise that there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the development of inflation, but at the same time agreed that monetary policy will be adapted as necessary to return inflation to the target.
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