Sweden raises interest rates for first time in seven years

Sweden's central bank hiked Thursday interest rates for the first time in seven years, raising the main repo rate by a quarter of a point to -0.25 percent. "As inflation and inflation expectations have become established at around 2 percent, the need for a highly expansionary monetary policy has decreased slightly," the Sveriges Riksbank said in a statement.
Sweden's central bank, like the ECB in the neighbouring eurozone, took interest rates into negative territory to prop up economic activity. "Economic activity is strong and the conditions are good for inflation to remain close to the inflation target in the period ahead," it added.