Sweden Services Growth Rebounds In October

(RTTNews) - Sweden's service sector growth improved in October after easing to a 26-month low in September, survey data from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Thursday.

The purchasing managers' index for the services sector rose to 56.9 in October from 55.1 in September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

"It is a surprisingly strong figure, not least for employment, but the trend in the service economy is downward and the risk has rather increased because we will see a weaker development in the future due to the decline in industry and the shrinking purchasing power of households," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

Among components, the employment index logged the largest positive contribution to the increase in PMI services, followed by orders, business volume and delivery times.

Meanwhile, the index for production plans retreated for the fourth month in a row to a new annual low of 55.9.

Swedish service providers faced continued cost pressures in October, with the index for suppliers' input prices rising to 82.0 from 81.6 in September.

The composite PMI, which combines manufacturing and services, improved to 54.0 in October from 53.3 in the previous month.