Swedish Economy Remains In Recession

(RTTNews) - Sweden's economy shrank in the fourth quarter, revised from a recovery reported initially, the latest data from Statistics Sweden showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product decreased 0.1 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. In the flash report, the rate of change was an increase of 0.1 percent.

In the second quarter of 2023, GDP showed a decline of 0.7 percent.

Thus, the country remained in recession as GDP contracted for the third straight quarter.

The downturn was mainly due to a decrease in gross fixed capital formation and net exports, the agency said.

On the expenditure side, household consumption rose 0.7 percent, and general government expenditure increased 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation dropped 1.8 percent, and net exports contributed negatively to GDP by 0.5 percentage points.

Compared to last year, GDP fell 0.2 percent in the December quarter, though slower than the 1.1 percent decline in the September quarter.

Separate official data showed that retail sales rose 0.4 percent monthly in January versus a flat change in December.

Sales of durable goods grew 1.3 percent over the month, while those of consumables decreased by 0.3 percent.