Sees 2-3 more rate cuts this year (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Stockholm, 20 Aug - The Swedish central bank, the Riksbank, said its executive board decided to cut the policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.50% as inflation has developed as expected and economic activity is weak.

The central bank noted that inflation has deviated less and less from the 2% target but the growth outlook in Sweden and abroad is somewhat weaker than in the most recently published forecast.

"In light of this, the Executive Board assesses that the policy rate can be cut somewhat faster than was assessed in June. If the inflation outlook remains the same, the policy rate can be cut two or three more times this year," it said.

The next Monetary Policy Report containing forecasts will be published on September 25.

AAA-Sch

(RADIOCOR) 20-08-24 09:55:03 (0194) 5 NNNN