By the end of 2011 inflation was sinking rapidly while the crisis in the euro zone deepened. Since late 2012 inflation has bumped along at roughly zero and occasionally dipped into negative territory (see chart). And on July 2nd the Riksbank announced a further half-point cut to its benchmark rate, larger than expected. This pared the rate all the way back to 0.25%, its lowest point in the worst days of the global recession.