MNI BRIEF: Riksbank Nov Minutes Steer To Faster Asset Sales

Riksbank Executive Board members all voted for unchanged policy at the November meeting and there was support for accelerating the pace of central bank asset sales with a vote in favour of that now looking likely at the January meeting.

Signs of softening inflation and mounting weakness of demand as the economic slowdown becomes more entrenched were sufficient to persuade all members to halt policy tightening in November and board members tilted towards stepping up the pace of quantitative tightening, in part to boost market liquidity and support the krona.

Any renewal of krona weakness was cited as a factor that could lead to renewed tightening but First Deputy Governor Anna Breman said that improved liquidity "can provide some marginal support to the krona" and she noted the board may come to "a decision at our next monetary policy meeting to further expand the sales of government bonds." Deputy Govenor Aino Bunge similarly said that if the krona did not appreciate as expected monetary policy may need to be tightened more than in the main scenario but that "we may return in January with a decision to increase the rate of (asset) sales. I think this is positive."