Swedish GDP Unexpectedly Shrinks 0.1% In Q3

(RTTNews) - Sweden's economy contracted unexpectedly for the second straight quarter, preliminary data from Statistics Sweden showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product decreased 0.1 percent sequentially in the third quarter, following a 0.3 percent fall in the second quarter. Meanwhile, economists were expecting a 0.4 percent recovery.

Compared to last year, GDP also dropped 0.1 percent after growing 0.5 percent in the preceding three-month period. The economy was expected to rise by 0.7 percent.

On a monthly basis, the economy shrank 0.4 percent in September, reversing a 0.8 percent rebound in August. Meanwhile, GDP rose 0.1 percent annually, though slower than the 0.4 percent increase in the prior month.

"Sweden's gross domestic product fell in September, which together with a negative development in July contributed to growth during the third quarter as a whole falling somewhat compared to the previous quarter," Melker Pettersson Loberg, national economist at Statistics Norway, said.

Separate official data showed that retail sales grew at a faster rate of 2.7 percent monthly in September versus a 0.3 percent gain a month ago. Monthly, sales dropped 0.1 percent.

Infrequently purchased goods trade increased by 2.7 percent over the year, while daily goods trade excluding Systembolaget increased by 3.1 percent.