Sweden's central bank decided to hold the repo rate unchanged on Thursday, to enable inflation to rise towards 2 percent and to boost the economic upturn.

The Executive Board also said it is not expected to raise the repo rate until the end of 2014 as the rate needs to remain at this low level until economic activity is stronger and inflation rises.

The rate is forecast to rise to around 1.8 percent in 2015 and to 2.7 percent in 2016.

Deputy Governors Karolina Ekholm and Martin Flodén entered reservation against maintaining the repo rate as both called for a quarter point cut to 0.75 percent.

Again Ekholm advocated a repo-rate path that stays at 0.75 percent through the third quarter of 2014, and then rises to about 2.4 percent by the end of the forecast period.

At the same time, Flodén said the repo rate should be on hold at this level until the end of the third quarter of 2014, and then rapidly raising it with effect from the fourth quarter of 2014 towards the repo-rate path in the main scenario of the Monetary Policy Report.

RTTNews