Swedish Economy Contracts 0.3% In Q2, Less Than Estimated

(RTTNews) - Sweden's economy shrank less than initially estimated in the second quarter, the latest data from Statistics Sweden showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product decreased 0.3 percent sequentially in the second quarter, in contrast to the revised 0.8 percent rise in the first quarter. In the flash report, the rate of decline was 0.8 percent.

The downturn was mainly explained by changes in inventories, which contributed negatively to GDP by 0.6 percentage points, the agency said.

Among other expenditure components, household consumption fell 0.2 percent, while government consumption rose somewhat by 0.1 percent. Gross fixed capital formation declined 1.7 percent, linked to weak investments in machinery and equipment and weapon systems.

Meanwhile, net exports contributed positively to GDP by 0.9 percent as exports grew 1.0 percent amid a 0.6 percent fall in imports.

Compared to last year, GDP advanced 0.5 percent in the second quarter after recovering 0.9 percent in the preceding three-month period. The latest growth was revised from a flat change estimate initially.

Separate official data showed that retail sales rebounded 0.5 percent monthly in July versus a 0.8 percent fall in June. Sales of durables grew 1.2 percent, while those of consumables dropped by 0.5 percent. Annually, the decline in retail sales softened to 0.5 percent from 1.4 percent.