Monthly exchange rates for Sweden 1913–2006

By Jan Bohlin 

In this section monthly exchange rates for Sweden against its major trading partners are presented for the period 1913–2006. There were two periods when the value of the krona changed markedly. The first one was from 1915 to early 1924 when the krona appreciated sharply. The other period of significant realignment in the value of the krona was 1977–1993 when the krona depreciated in several steps. From 1924 to 1977 there was no long-run change in the value of the krona, even though the depreciation in the 1930’s and the appreciation in the aftermath of the Second World War were significant episodes in the history of the Swedish exchange rate. It is of course natural that the periods of exchange rate stability, 1924–1931 and 1953–1973, were also periods of fixed exchange rate regimes in the international monetary system.

The exchange rate data are the prices quoted in Stockholm for currencies, i.e. how many Swedish krona (SEK) a given unit of a foreign currency amounted to. In most cases the monthly exchange rates are calculated as monthly averages of daily quotations, except for the Second World War, when there was no active currency market, and the period stretching from 1952 to 1974, when the monthly exchange rates are averages of the highest and lowest daily quotation of the particular month.

The data are summarized in an exchange rate index where the weights of the various countries are their share of Swedish foreign trade (imports + exports). The weights are periodically updated in order to reflect the changing composition of Swedish foreign trade.

Variable definitions: