BRUSSELS (MNI) - The intended interest rate path for Sweden's Riksbank is unchanged from the previous assessment, with hikes due in autumn 2010, the Swedish central bank said in the minutes of its December 15 meeting, published Monday.

The Riksbank said, "recovery in the economy is continuing and inflationary pressure will be low in the coming period."

In December, the Riksbank held its repo rate at 0.25% and said it would begin to raise rates in autumn this year. But there was a three-way split among the six policy makers, with Deputy Governor Lars Svensson wanting to cut rates to 0% and Deputy Governors Lars Nyberg and Barbro Wickman-Parak supporting hiking rates more quickly.

The minutes said the stance of Nyberg and Wickman-Parak "was motivated with reference to a slightly more positive view of growth prospects and the fact that economic activity is now beginning to normalise."

"They considered that it would be necessary to raise the interest rate sooner than indicated by the proposed repo rate path, but that the path would then not need to be so steep during the remaining forecast period," the minutes showed.

Since the meeting on December 15, some Swedish data have been better than expected, underlining the position taken by Nyberg and Wickman-Parak.

Monday, the Swedish purchasing managers' index - a measure of private sector output - rose to 58.2 from 55.8 in December.

Economists at SEK Bank in Stockholm said that this was better than the 56.0 many economists had expected but that it would still be necessary to see proof in the real data.