Aino Bunge: Swedish economy resilient in troubled times
Presentation “The recent international turbulence has undoubtedly increased uncertainty about both future inflation and the recovery of the Swedish economy. Should developments turn out differently from what we envisaged in our most recent forecast, we are nevertheless in a good position to deal with them.” These comments were made by Deputy Governor Aino Bunge, speaking about the economic situation today at SBAB in Stockholm.
Date: 08/04/2025 07:45
Speaker: Deputy Governor Aino Bunge
Place: GT30 Grev Ture, Grev Turegatan 30, Stockholm
Aino Bunge, deputy governor.
Inflation fell back as expected in March, which is positive, but it remains somewhat elevated. “The assessment we made in our latest forecast is that the rise in inflation is temporary. But we are following developments very closely and monitoring any signals from companies regarding price increases," said Ms Bunge.
In this context, she emphasised that the turmoil we are now seeing as a result of the reorientation of US trade and security policy is also a risk for the Swedish economy. “The rebound in the Swedish economy certainly began last year. But at the beginning of this year we have seen some signs of weakness, both in terms of household demand and the labour market. The uncertainty regarding trade policy risks not only affecting the US economy, but also Swedish and European households and companies. Companies’ investments and households’ consumption require confidence and optimism,” said Ms Bunge.
“We are following developments very closely, both in terms of economic developments and the situation in financial markets, and as always we are ready to act if necessary.”
Sweden is fundamentally in a good position to handle the turbulence that is currently taking place in the rest of the world, partly thanks to our relatively low government debt. But it is important to also keep household and corporate debt under control," said Ms Bunge.