history of high inflation and problems with government finances — all the high - interest countries were treated in much the same way. the situation in sweden ’ s financial markets then improved as the measures for consolidating government finances began to bite, prospects for sweden ’ s economy brightened and international developments became more stable. during 1995 the swedish krona became markedly stronger and long - term interest rates declined. this trend continued during 1996, when the riksbank rapidly lowered the repo rate. at the end of 1996 the level of the tcw exchange rate index was 114, which was inside the riksbank ’ s estimated interval for long - term equilibrium. for about two years, from the summer of 1996 to the summer of 1998, the krona stayed inside a relatively narrow interval in relation to the german mark, about 3 per cent around a mean level of 4, 40. in effective tcw terms, however, the krona weakened. there are good reasons for supposing that this was due to other factors than problems with credibility. the link between exchange rate movements and the long - term interest rate differential was no longer discernible, which indicates that the krona ’ s path now had less to do with aspects of credibility. the main explanation for the weaker exchange rate in this period lay rather in cyclical differences. stronger economic growth in the uk and the united states caused the dollar and sterling to appreciate against the krona. turbulent autumn in the autumn of 1998 the krona weakened again, mainly, in the riksbank ’ s opinion, on account of international turbulence. growing financial problems during 1998, culminating after russia ’ s suspension of debt payments and the near failure of an american hedge fund, increased the risk aversion of international investors and prompted a flight to more secure assets. this hit the krona even though the economic fundamentals in sweden were mostly good. one reason why the general increase in risk premia weakened the krona was probably the persistently high level of external debt. other countries with large foreign debts were similarly affected. in sweden ’ s case, however, some part was also played by domestic factors ; the krona tended to weaken, for example, at the time of the general election in september. when the financial market turbulence then subsided around the turn of last year, the krona strengthened once more. this suggested that low inflation and the rapid consolidation of government finances were again playing a relatively larger part in exchange rate movements. the stronger krona

promote maximum, inclusive employment and price stability — are closely related to the topics that we will be discussing today. the decisions that we at the fed face on interest rates and other matters must be, and will be, informed by the perspectives that all of you bring to the table today about how to help young people thrive. those decisions will be better decisions after we have heard you and gained a better understanding of the challenges and possible solutions. thank you again for the opportunity to hear your views, and i am really looking forward to our discussion. 1 / 1 bis central bankers'speeches