Engelsk

The Danish economy has been in a boom phase in recent years. Over time, weaker growth abroad will affect the Danish economy, and prospects are for slightly lower growth rates over the coming years. The labour market is showing the first signs of a slowdown. The boom has evolved without considerable imbalances building up, and the Danish economy is well prepared for a slowdown. Slightly lower growth during a boom period is not an indication that fiscal policy should be eased.

In September, Danmarks Nationalbank lowered the interest rate on certificates of deposit by 10 basis points to -0.75 per cent. The interest rate reduction is a consequence of the reduction by the European Central Bank of its key monetary policy rate by 10 basis points. The krone rate remains stable, being slightly on the weak side of the central rate. Overall, financial conditions are accommodative and support the ongoing economic upswing. Declining interest rates have triggered a new refinancing boom during which many households have opted for lower-rate home loans. Credit growth remains moderate and has slowed slightly in 2019.

The US has a current account deficit and president Donald Trump has an explicit goal of reducing it. However, new trade agreements and new tariffs do not remove the deficit, as the current account is basically determined by the balance between total savings and investments in the US. The growing public budget deficit, on the other hand, tends to increase the US deficit, but a large international demand for dollars helps keeping costs down.

​The Danish economy has shown solid growth for a number of years, and that continued in the 1st half of 2019. This is Danmarks Nationalbank's conclusion in a new outlook for the Danish economy, forecasting an increase in the gross domestic product, GDP, of 1.8 per cent this year. Over the next two years, GDP is expected to rise by 1.5 per cent per year.

Falling mortgage rates have made mortgage refinancing attractive in order to reduce overall home financing costs. Many homeowners raise additional mortgage debt when refinancing. The additional funds are used for increased consumption and home improvements. However, some homeowners spend the funds on reducing other debt or building up a liquidity buffer.

​Effective from 13 September 2019, Danmarks Nationalbank's interest rate on certificates of deposit is reduced by 0.10 percentage point. The lending rate, the current account rate and the discount rate are unchanged.

Speech by governor Lars Rohde at the annual meeting of Danish Auditors 10 September 2019

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, requiring a large-scale economic transition in many areas, shows a review of the rapidly growing number of scientific articles and books on this subject, presented in a working paper.