Swedish central bank again raises key rate to hit inflation

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank has raised a key interest rate and 0.5 percentage points to 3% to combat inflation, saying it “is far too high and has continued to rise.” Riksbanken said Thursday when announcing the hike that “for inflation to fall and stabilize around the target within a reasonable time. In Sweden, consumer prices rose 12.3% in December from a year earlier in the European Union country, lower than 11.5% in November, according to official figures. Riksbanken said it would start  begin selling government bonds in April and that its forecast indicates that the rate will probably be raised further during the spring.