it comes to bringing down inflation. the same applies to reforms that make the economy function better, for example by strengthening competition on various markets. in addition to contributing to higher productivity, such reforms can actually help to dampen inflationary pressures for a while. the economic tendency survey's confidence indicator clearly shows that households are very pessimistic about their own finances and the swedish economy in general. the fact that households have found it more difficult is also noticeable in the retail sector, where sales have fallen since last spring. according to the confidence indicator, the retail trade is the part of the business sector where the mood is most gloomy. but for 8 / 10 bis - central bankers'speeches february it also shows that confidence in the manufacturing industry rose slightly, after having fallen for several months in a row. confidence also increased in the service sector. recruitment plans in the business sector point to continued new recruitment, although there are some differences between sectors. the difference between different sectors is also shown in the riksbank's business survey in february. in general, the companies interviewed believe that economic activity has weakened since last autumn. but several point out that the situation is not as bad as they had feared. respondents in the manufacturing industry are much more satisfied with the situation than in the trade and construction industries. orders in the manufacturing industry have increased overall and expectations are that they will remain at the same levels in the coming months. we have also received a new outcome for statistics sweden's gdp indicator, which provides an early picture of the development of gdp at the beginning of 2023. it shows that activity in the swedish economy rose in january and both exports of goods and household consumption increased. of course, one should not rely too heavily on indicators for individual months. and there is no doubt that gdp growth and the labour market will be weaker in 2023, partly as a result of the tighter monetary policy. but i still think it is worth emphasising that so far the situation in the swedish economy is not pitch black. low inflation a condition for good economic performance to conclude – we have our next monetary policy meeting in one month's time. by then, we will have received more information on economic developments, including the outcome for inflation in march. and as usual, we will weigh up all the information and make a new overall assessment of inflation prospects, economic developments in general and the monetary policy that is needed. the recent concerns linked to the problems in international banks are putting us in

fact, our current bop and gir are already at levels where they are forecast to be by 2013, if not higher. indeed, it would seem that the economic policies and reforms we have invested in over the years are converging towards solid high economic performance … but, in taking all these in, we need to be prudent … let us not overvalue these better prospects lest we become complacent … you in the markets, of all, are most familiar with the still fragile global environment we operate in. over the past two weeks, both the ecb and the fed announced new asset purchase programs – the omt ( although with some conditionality ) and the qe3 … central bankers do know how to use acronyms also, don ’ t we? both of these were much awaited by the market … both seemingly open - ended … both signalling prolonged easy monetary policy in the advanced economies … and, your reaction has so far been, as expected … to take on added risk, as layers of policy uncertainty are peeled away. at the bsp, we are watchful of these developments. if these programs still don ’ t produce the desired effects on growth and unemployment in the us and europe, the risks are clearly to the downside. of particular concern to us is the adverse feedback loop between the financial bis central bankers ’ speeches sector and the real sector due to 1 ) the interlocking sovereign debt and banking crisis in the euro zone … 2 ) the overhang of the fiscal cliff in the us, and … 3 ) the softening chinese economy. the 2007 / 08 financial crisis graphically illustrated to us that this feedback loop can be very strong and could take a non - trivial length of time to unwind … it also taught us that although focus on price stability is necessary, it is not a sufficient condition to protect economic growth … furthermore, we should remember the lesson that looking only at the health of individual financial entities would not safeguard the system as a whole … indeed, the recent crisis has taught us many things – but most importantly, it taught us that policies to ensure monetary stability and financial stability must go hand in hand. i know that when market players listen to a speech from the bsp governor, you have your radars up, hoping to hear “ directionals ” … on the peso you hope to hear about where the peso is going. have we hit the top yet?... on interest rates, you hope to hear