Sweden Services Growth Strongest In Over 2 Years

(RTTNews) - Sweden's service sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in March, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Thursday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector rose to 53.9 in March from 51.2 in February. A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

The order intake index accounted for the largest positive contribution to the monthly increase in services PMI, followed by employment, business volume, and delivery times.

"There are increasingly positive tones in the service economy of the country's larger service companies, and their business plans have become more expansive," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

Data showed that the index for commodity and input prices retreated to 60.8 in March from 61.4 in February. Nonetheless, price pressures in the Swedish service economy remained high.