Sweden's Migration Agency cuts forecast for asylum seekers this year

Police organize a line of refugees on a stairway leading up to trains arriving from Denmark at the Hyllie train station outside Malmo, Sweden, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/File Photo

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Migration Agency expects up to 50,000 asylum seekers in 2016 after last year's record influx, a new forecast showed on Monday. The Migration Agency said it expected between 30,000 and 50,000 to claim asylum in Sweden this year against a previous forecast of between 40,000 and 100,000. Sweden took in around 160,000 asylum seekers last year but numbers have dropped to around 2,000 per month after the introduction of border controls as well as measures making it harder for refugees to enter the European Union. (Reporting by Daniel Dickson; Editing by Alistair Scrutton)