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ECONOMY

Denmark’s central bank cuts interest rates in response to strong currency 

The central bank, Nationalbanken, has slightly lowered interest rates in response to the krone’s currently strong position against the euro.

Danish 50 krone notes in production. Denmark has adjusted its interest rates to maintain a consistent value of the krone against the euro.
Denmark has adjusted its interest rates to maintain a consistent value of the krone against the euro. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Ritzau Scanpix

Interest rates for current accounts, savings and loans are decreased by 0.1 percent, to 0.6 percent, 0.6 percent and 0.45 percent respectively.

“The interest rate decrease occurs based on Nationalbanken’s purchase of currency on the market,” the central bank said in a statement.

Nationalbanken is required to maintain a consistent exchange rate between the krone and the euro.

As such the bank is adjusting interest rates with momentum behind the Danish economy, job vacancies at a high level, house prices soaring and inflation conceivable.

“The National Bank has one mandate and one only. And that is to ensure the policy of foxed exchange with the euro. And we have seen in recent times that the krone has been a bit on the strong side and that the National Bank has sold Danish kroner,” Danske Bank senior analyst Olai Milhøj told news wire Ritzau.

“So now the dynamic will be changed a bit be reducing interest to make it a bit less attractive to hold Danish kroner,” he added.

The interest rate change is however discrete enough that it will likely only impact large scale speculators.

The change in the price of a euro is less than one øre (a hundredth of a krone) and is unlikely to impact interest rates offered by banks.

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SAS

‘We agree to disagree’: Still no progress in marathon SAS strike talks

By lunchtime on Friday, talks between the Scandinavian airline SAS and unions representing striking pilots were still stuck on "difficult issues".

'We agree to disagree': Still no progress in marathon SAS strike talks

“We agree that we disagree,” Roger Klokset, from the Norwegian pilots’ union, said at lunchtime outside the headquarters of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in Stockholm, where talks are taking place. “We are still working to find a solution, and so long as there is still some point in continuing negotiations, we will do that.” 

Mats Ruland, a mediator for the Norwegian government, said that there were “still several difficult issues which need to be solved”. 

At 1pm on Friday, the two sides took a short break from the talks for lunch, after starting at 9am. On Thursday, they negotiated for 15 hours, breaking off at 1am on Friday morning. 

READ ALSO: What’s the latest on the SAS plane strike?

Marianne Hernæs, SAS’s negotiator on Friday told journalists she was tired after sitting at the negotiating table long into the night. 

“We need to find a model where we can meet in the middle and which can ensure that we pull in the income that we are dependent on,” she said. 

Klokset said that there was “a good atmosphere” in the talks, and that the unions were sticking together to represent their members.

“I think we’ve been extremely flexible so far. It’s ‘out of this world’,’ said Henrik Thyregod, with the Danish pilots’ union. 

“This could have been solved back in December if SAS had not made unreasonable demands on the pilots,” Klokset added. 

The strike, which is now in its 12th day, has cost SAS up to 130m kronor a day, with 2,550 flights cancelled by Thursday, affecting 270,000 passengers. 

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