Swedish GDP, Industrial Output Shrinks In July

(RTTNews) - Sweden's economy contracted for the first time in three months in July amid lower production among service-producing industries and in construction, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Tuesday.

Separate official data showed that industrial production decreased after recovering in June.

Gross domestic product dropped 0.8 percent month-on-month in July, reversing a 0.8 percent rise in the previous month.

"Sweden's gross domestic product contracted in July with lower production figures among service-producing industries and in construction," Mattias Kain Wyatt, economist at Statistics Sweden, said.

The decline was lessened by stronger manufacturing and general government output, the economist added.

On a yearly basis, GDP fell 0.9 percent in July, reversing a 2.3 percent rebound in the previous month.

Another report showed that industrial production declined 1.6 percent annually in July after rising 0.4 percent in the prior month.

Production in construction was contracted 7.5 percent from last year, while the output produced in the service sector grew by 0.3 percent. The output produced in the utility sector was 5.7 percent higher.

Data showed that construction output fell 4.6 percent annually in October, slower than the 9.6 percent plunge a month ago.