Henry Ohlsson: Monetary policy during the economic crisis

Speech by Mr Henry Ohlsson, Deputy Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, 17 June 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

The economic crisis the world economy is now experiencing is the deepest for many decades. Both demand and supply have declined substantially around the world. Economic policy faces major challenges. Sweden, which is a small open economy, has been severely affected by the reduced economic activity in the world around us. Naturally, we have also been affected by how international economic policy to deal with the crisis has been formulated.

I will in this speech highlight three challenges that monetary policy has faced during the spring. These challenges have by no means disappeared, we will continue to deal with them.

The first challenge has been that the financial markets function less smoothly during severe economic crises. This has been an important base for the Riksbank's monetary policy during the spring.