(Bloomberg) -- Riksbank officials signaled they may opt for quicker easing than earlier forecast as they expect that inflation will continue to subside even as interest rates come down. 

“My assessment is that we now have an inflation largely in line with the target,” Governor Erik Thedeen said in minutes from the central bank’s meeting last week. “It is somewhat more probable that we will cut the policy rate three times, than twice, during the second half of the year.”

The Swedish central bank kept its rate unchanged last week and said it’s preparing two or three cuts in the second half of the year. The announcement signaled increasing confidence that the Riksbank can act independently of its larger peers without setting off krona weakening that would fuel inflation by lifting prices on imports. 

After Thedeen and his deputies initiated easing in May, before the European Central Bank’s first rate cut, the Swedish currency strengthened as much as 4% against the euro. Deputy Governor Per Jansson said that development was “welcome and positive,” although the krona’s movements remain hard to interpret. 

The message from the minutes was “fairly dovish,” in line with the communication after the meeting, said Tommy von Bromsen, a foreign exchange strategist at Handelsbanken. 

Higher-than-expected inflation in May is “mostly seen as transitory,” and several board members indicated that three cuts are more likely than two during the second half, he said. 

The meeting was Anna Seim’s first as a deputy governor after she replaced Martin Floden on the executive board in late May. 

Seim said that while she supported the decision to keep the benchmark rate unchanged, she did consider whether a cut might be appropriate. 

“It is clear that monetary policy needs to be less restrictive, and if we are slow to react there is a risk that inflation will be too low,” Seim said. “However, a number of factors suggest that the policy rate should be adjusted gradually.”

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--With assistance from Jonas Ekblom, Christopher Jungstedt, Rafaela Lindeberg and Love Liman.

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