Swedish Economy Rebounds; Industrial Output Falls Further

(RTTNews) - Sweden's economy expanded in July after contracting in the previous month, underpinned by increased production in the business sector and a rise in household consumption, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Friday.

Separate official data showed that industrial production decreased for the second straight month in July.

Gross domestic product advanced 0.5 percent month-on-month in July, reversing a 0.5 percent fall in June.

"Economic activity increased in July compared to June among other things due to increased production in the business sector as well as increased household consumption," Tora Hammar, economist at Statistics Sweden, said.

On a yearly basis, GDP shrank 0.8 percent in July, though slower than the 1.3 percent decline in the prior month.

Household consumption increased by 0.5 percent monthly and by 0.4 percent annually in July.

Another report showed that industrial production fell at a faster rate of 4.0 percent annually in July versus a 2.0 percent decrease in June.

Among sectors, manufacturing output contracted 4.3 percent from last year, and that of electricity, gas, steam, and hot water segments slumped by 19.0 percent.

Output produced in construction was 4.7 percent lower compared to last year, while mining and quarrying production grew somewhat by 0.2 percent.