UPDATE 1-Riksbank's Ingves says support still needed

STOCKHOLM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Sweden's top central banker said on Thursday the global economy was recovering but it was not yet time for authorities to remove support measures aimed at mitigating the worst of the downturn and lifting growth. Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves pointed to improving conditions in financial markets and better confidence among households and companies as early signs of recovery. But it was not yet time to remove stimulus measures aimed at supporting growth in still-fragile economies, he added. "The need for the authorities' crisis measures will decline as conditions in the financial sector improve and the world economy shows clearer signs of a recovery," Ingves said in the text of a speech read to the Swedish parliament. "If all goes well and the situation remains stable, then it is time to move on without support," he said. "But we are not there yet." Last month the Riksbank left its key policy rate unchanged and stuck by the forecast that it would stay at a record low of 0.25 percent through the autumn of 2010, as a weak labour market still posed a risk to the Swedish economy. But two of his colleagues disagreed with that rate path, minutes to the Riksbank's meeting showed, calling for monetary policy to be tightened earlier than forecast due to the risk of a bubble forming in Sweden's housing market. Ingves addressed the issue of house prices in his speech, but said the Riksbank could not target its policy so narrowly as its mandate was to support recovery in the broader Swedish economy and meet a 2 percent inflation target. "We cannot adapt monetary policy on the basis of individual markets as long as we do not regard this as something that affects our ability to meet the inflation target and to safeguard financial stability," he said. He added that the Riksbank was following price trends in the housing market closely, but had no intention of giving them greater weight in its debates over monetary policy. Analysts took Ingves' mention of the housing market as a sign that it would weigh into the central bank's future policy. "That the housing market features on the Riksbank's agenda is clear, but whether it does so in a short-term fashion is too early to say," said Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordea. "But in the longer term, I think the housing market will will weigh more into the Riksbank's policy," she added. (Reporting by Simon Johnson, Nick Vinocur and Love Liman; Editing by Victoria Main) Keywords: SWEDEN RIKSBANK/ (Stockholm Newsroom, [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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