Swedish Service Sector Recovery Slows In November

(RTTNews) - Sweden's services activity remained in the expansion territory for the second straight month, though the pace of growth eased sharply, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Wednesday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector dropped to 50.9 in November from 53.1 in October. However, any reading above 50 suggests expansion in the sector.

"The recovery in the service sector is slow and shows no clear signs of picking up speed, despite interest rate cuts," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

"Even if the companies are more optimistic in their business plans, they choose to reduce the number of employees with the risk of continued high unemployment in the future."

Among components, the order intake sub-index accounted for the largest decline, followed by manufacturing, while the employment and delivery time sub-indexes increased.

Price pressures intensified in the services economy, as the index for raw and input prices rose to 57.1 in November, from 51.3 in October. This was the steepest cost inflation in six months.

The composite output index declined to 51.7 in November from 53.1 in October, indicating a slower expansion in the Swedish private sector.