STOCKHOLM, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish central bank, Riksbanken, raised the county's repo rate from -0.50 percent to -0.25 percent, the Swedish Television SVT reported on Thursday.
The raise of the repo rate was announced in the year's last interest rate announcement, and the new rate applies from Jan. 9 2019.
"The Swedish economy has been doing well for quite some time. Even though we are now entering a calmer phase, our assessment is that the good times will continue in the future as well", said Riksbanken's governor Stefan Ingves at a press conference on Thursday.
At the press conference, Ingves however mentioned several uncertainties that could affect the global economy. These variables include Brexit, conflicts in trade between the United States and other countries, and Italy's economy.
For the past three years, Sweden has had a minus rate of -0.50 percent and for the past four years the rate has been below zero. This is due to the economic difficulties after the financial crisis.
The forecast for the repo rate indicates that the next rate rise will probably occur during the second half of 2019, Riksbanken writes in a press release.
