No hydrogen cyanide leak in Luleå, but why are SSAB construction workers falling ill? Also on Thursday: Swedish banking giant bets on steady policy rate, schools in Borlänge reopen after threats force closure, and the latest on the weather.
False alarm: No hydrogen cyanide leak at Luleå port
A gas detector at the port of Luleå, apparently falsely, detected hydrogen cyanide on Tuesday and the entire port had to close, reports regional newspaper NSD.
The port is close to SSAB’s steel factory construction site where several employees have fallen ill in recent weeks.
SSAB on April 3rd halted all work on its building site after around 20 people inexplicably fell ill. Work has still not resumed.
Seven had to receive healthcare.
According to SSAB, it’s still unclear what caused the illness, but no trace of hydrogen cyanide – which is colourless and potentially deadly – was found in follow-up investigations at the nearby port on Tuesday or Wednesday.
An uncalibrated tool initially detected the toxic gas, but the follow-up measurements were carried out using calibrated tools.
Swedish vocabulary: hydrogen cyanide – vätecyanid
Swedish banking giant bets on steady policy rate
Sweden’s state-owned mortgage lender SBAB (not related to the steel giant above with the very similar name SSAB!) believes the Riksbank will leave the interest rate unchanged.
But it warns that the forecast is extremely uncertain, due to the war in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices.
“We choose, however, to be optimistic regarding a de-escalation of the conflict and keep our prediction that the policy rate will remain unchanged over the course of the year,” said SBAB economist Robert Boije.
The bank also predicts that property prices will rise just over four percent in 2026, which is slightly less than its previous forecast.
Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, is set to announce its next decision on the interest rate on May 7th. The so-called policy rate currently stands at 1.75 percent.
The policy rate is the Riksbank’s main monetary policy tool. It decides which rates Swedish banks can deposit in and borrow money from the Riksbank, which in turn affects the banks’ own interest rates on savings, loans and mortgages.
If bank interest rates are high, it’s expensive to borrow money, which means people spend less and as a result inflation drops – or if they are low, inflation increases.
Swedish vocabulary: the policy rate – styrräntan
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From spring to sleet – just another week in Sweden in April
Did you get a chance to enjoy the spring weather – one might even call it a whiff of summer? Good, because it’s not lasting.
Cool winds are coming in from the north-east on Thursday, with the weather getting progressively worse in the next few days.
“We’re going to see a bit of rain [in northern Sweden], but also snow mixed with rain over the course of the day,” Toni Fuentes, SMHI meteorologist, told the TT newswire.
On Saturday it’s set to be “really windy throughout the country”, with possible sleet in south-eastern Sweden and the Stockholm area.
The lower temperatures are expected to stick around until Thursday or Friday next week.
It’s not for nothing Swedes call it aprilväder – April weather, the quickly changing weather during the month of April.
Swedish vocabulary: weather – väder
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Schools in Borlänge to reopen on Thursday after threats force closure
Authorities ordered 16 public schools to shut in the central Swedish town of Borlänge on Wednesday after receiving reports of a threat of violence, officials said, later announcing that one person had been detained.
The Borlänge municipality said in a statement that schools would “resume normal operations” on Thursday.
“During the day, police have located and taken into custody the individual who had previously led to the assessment of a potential threat to the schools,” the municipality said, without providing any details on the individual.
“Following this measure, the police now assess that the threat no longer exists,” it added.
Police said the individual was a man in his upper teens.
Newspaper Aftonbladet had reported the threat involved a “school shooting”, which had also been circulated on social media. Police declined to comment on the report. (AFP)
Swedish vocabulary: a school – en skola