Swedish central bank chief says reason to believe crown will strengthen over time

STOCKHOLM: There is reason to believe that the strength of the Swedish economy will see the crown appreciate over time, Swedish Central Bank Governor Stefan Ingves said on Tuesday.

"In the slightly longer term, the fundamental trends have not changed in the sense that the Swedish economy is doing compared to many other countries, and we still have a current account surplus," Ingves told reporters after a parliamentary hearing.

"Taking that into account, there is reason to believe that the crown will strengthen."

He also said he was happy that the latest inflation figures were closer to the Riksbank's forecast than in the previous month.

Swedish inflation rose in line with market expectations in October, data from the stats office showed on Tuesday, but were somewhat lower than the central bank's prediction and still some way below the two percent target.