Sweden’s economy expanded less than initially estimated in the third quarter, while retail sales declined for the third straight month in October, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Tuesday.
Gross domestic product advanced 0.6 percent sequentially in the September quarter, following a revised 0.7 percent rise in the March quarter. The latest figure was revised down from a 0.7 percent increase reported initially on October 28.
The economy expanded for the second straight quarter in the September quarter, after a 0.1 percent slight contraction in the first quarter.
The overall expansion in the third quarter was driven by gross fixed capital formation, with a notable rise in machinery investments.
Household final consumption dropped 0.2 percent, while gross fixed capital formation gained 1.2 percent and general government consumption rose 0.4 percent. Both exports and imports rose by 0.5 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.
The annual economic growth eased to 2.5 percent in the September quarter from 3.4 percent in the June quarter. That was just below the 2.6 percent rise seen in the flash data.
In a separate report, the statistical office showed that retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent monthly in October, after a 0.6 percent drop in September.
Retail sales of durables declined 2.5 percent from a month ago, while sales of consumables rose 0.8 percent.
On a yearly basis, retail sales slipped 7.7 percent in October, after a 5.4 percent decline in the prior month. Sales have been falling since May.
Another report from the statistical office revealed that the trade deficit of the country widened notably to SEK 9.5 billion in October from SEK 0.6 billion in the same month of 2021.
The value of exports climbed 21.0 percent year-over-year in October, while imports grew at a much faster pace of 27.0 percent.
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