Swedish Services Activity Expands Further

(RTTNews) - Sweden's service sector expanded for the second successive month in January despite weaker order intakes, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Monday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector rose to a six-month high of 51.8 in January from 50.3 in December. A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

The business volume sub-index accounted for the largest positive contribution to the headline index, followed by delivery times, while orders received and employment negatively contributed.

"The increase means a brightening in the service sector, but with a weak order situation and employment that continues to lose momentum, it remains a fragile foundation," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

On the price front, the index for raw materials and input prices rose at the slowest pace in seven months. This shows positive signals for Riksbank as price pressures were eased.

The composite output index rose to 50.5 in January from 49.8 in the previous month, indicating that the economic slowdown in the business world has bottomed out, but with the risk that growth will be delayed due to the weak global economy.