CEO of German oil and gas company Wintershall Dea: We no longer see any prospect of cooperation with Russian energy, and this is our final decision.

[Financial website Forexlive commented on ZEW Investor Confidence Index in Switzerland in April] Swiss investor confidence further improved in April, and analysts currently see no immediate risk of a recession in the short term. That said, the report does suggest that the ramifications of near-term stress in the banking sector remain unclear, so this does add some risk to the outlook.

London Metal Exchange (LME): Aluminum inventories increased by 2,200 tons, copper inventories increased by 1,050 tons, nickel inventories decreased by 72 tons, lead inventories were flat, tin inventories decreased by 25 tons, and zinc inventories were flat.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index extended losses to 0.9%.

The Swedish krona reversed gains and weakened after the Riksbank raised interest rates, with EUR/SEK up 0.71% to 11.387 and USD/SEK up 0.15% to 10.33.

Riksbank: After raising interest rates over the past year, monetary policy has had a tightening effect on the economy, and the Executive Board assessed that there would be room to adjust monetary policy by a smaller margin after the April meeting.

Riksbank: New information and how to assess the economic outlook and impact of this information will be the decisive factor in determining the implementation of monetary policy.

Riksbank: The policy rate is expected to average 3.65% in the second quarter of 2024, compared with the previous forecast of 3.33%; the policy rate is expected to average 3.65% in the second quarter of 2025, compared with the previous forecast of 3.33%; the second quarter of 2026 is expected The quarterly policy rate averaged 3.35%.

Riksbank: The policy rate is expected to average 2.75% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the previous forecast of 2.75%; the policy rate is expected to average 3.32% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the previous forecast of 3.21%.

Market news: Belarusian troops receive tactical nuclear warhead training in Russia.

Riksbank: Inflation is still too high, and the core inflation rate in the first months of this year was much higher than expected.

Riksbank: CPIF is now expected to be 2.3% in 2024, compared to 1.9% previously. The CPIF is expected to be 1.8% in 2025, compared to the previous forecast of 1.9%.

Riksbank: CPIF is now expected to be 5.9% in 2023, compared to 5.5% previously.

Riksbank: SEK is not a determinant of inflation.

Riksbank: A stronger SEK would be desirable in current circumstances.

Sweden’s central bank’s benchmark interest rate on April 26 was 3.5%, expected to be 3.5%, and the previous value was 3.00%.