2022.04.0613:24:00UTC+00Sweden Industrial Production Growth Slows In February

Sweden's industrial production increased at a softer pace in February, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Wednesday.

Industrial production grew 2.3 percent annually in February, after a 3.2 percent rise in January.

The biggest upward contribution came from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, where output rose by 15.2 percent, while the largest downward contribution came from the motor vehicle industry.

The overall private sector output rose 3.5 percent in February, after a 6.3 percent growth in the previous month.

Construction output dropped 11.4 percent after a 5.7 percent rise in January. Services growth, excluding finance and insurance sectors, eased to 6.1 percent from 7.2 percent.

Another report from the statistical office showed that industrial orders gained 1.3 percent year-on-year in February. Domestic orders decreased 0.1 percent and foreign demand grew by 2.5 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, orders decreased 1.4 percent in February. Domestic orders fell 1.1 percent and foreign bookings demand declined 2.1 percent.

The largest decrease was recorded in the transport equipment industry, down 48.4 percent.

The statistical office said household consumption grew 3.4 percent yearly in February.

The largest positive contribution came from restaurants, cafes, hotels and other accommodation services, while the biggest negative contribution came from the housing, electricity, gas and heating.

On a monthly basis, household spending fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in February.

The statistical office also reported that the GDP indicator decreased a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent monthly in February, but economic activity rose 2.5 percent from a year ago.

"Economic activity decreased in February," Neda Shahbazi, statistician at Statistics Sweden, said. "It was the second month in a row with slightly negative development."