STOCKHOLM, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Swedish central bank Deputy Governor Martin Floden said on Friday that Riksbank's course of action at its next monetary policy meetings was uncertain and that another hike "hangs in the balance."
Sweden's central bank raised its key policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.00% this month - its eight consecutive hike - and said it might need to do more to bring inflation back to its 2% target.
At the time, it predicted some likelihood of another hike in the coming months.
"For the coming meeting in November and the subsequent meetings early next year, it's rather uncertain what we will do," Floden said in a presentation, adding that incoming data would be "very important."
"There may be another hike, but it's not certain," Floden later told reporters.
"I would say that it hangs in the balance, given where we were at the monetary policy meeting."
Consumer price rises have steadily declined from a peak of more than 10% around the turn of the year but remain well above the Riksbank's target, while the weakness of the Swedish crown currency has exacerbated the problem.
The crown has, however, strengthened from record lows against the euro in the wake of the rate announcement.
While the rapid rate hikes have brought down inflation, they have also hit economic growth and weighed on households and real estate firms facing soaring interest payments and problems rolling over debt.
Floden said on Friday that inflation is going in the right direction but the Riksbank remains somewhat concerned about its path back to the 2% target. The crown is undervalued from the the Riksbank's point of view and its weakness is problematic, he added. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard; writing by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Essi Lehto, Johan Ahlander and Edwina Gibbs)
