Business News
Fresh figures show Sweden remains in recession
May 29, 2009, 9:44 GMT
Stockholm - The Swedish gross domestic product (GDP) continued to decline in first quarter 2009, reflecting the continued impact of the global downturn, according to new figures released Friday.
The drop was 6.5 per cent year-on-year, Statistics Sweden reported. The figures included lower household spending and the impact from the troubled automotive industry with lower sales.
Swedish exports fell 16 per cent while imports dropped 14.8 per cent, the agency said.
Industrial production declined 9 per cent.
In fourth-quarter 2008, the agency estimated the GDP decline to 4.9 per cent year-on-year.
Analysts with major banking groups SEB and Nordea had estimated the first-quarter decline to 7 per cent, and noted that a year ago the global downturn had not come into force.
Nordea chief analyst Annika Winsth told Swedish radio news that there were signs of stabilization and the economy could possibly begin to pick up during the second half of 2009.
The first-quarter decline was the worst since 1993 when Statistics Sweden began to track GDP.
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