STOCKHOLM—Sweden’s central bank says it will expand its bond purchase stimulus program by 65 billion kronor ($7.6 billion) to help the economy and nudge inflation toward the 2 percent target.
Wednesday’s announcement means the Riksbank’s bond-buying will reach 200 billion kronor by the middle of next year, and comes as several central banks around the world consider more stimulus to fend off an economic slowdown.
The Riksbank said it is pursuing expansionary policies “to underpin the positive development in the Swedish economy and safeguard the robustness of the upturn in inflation.”
Analysts said the move was in response to the potential of more stimulus from the European Central Bank in the eurozone, of which Sweden is not a member. Stimulus tends to weigh on a currency, and a rise in the Swedish krona against the euro would hurt exporters and weigh on inflation.
