Sweden: Economic sentiment rises but remains sour in February
Latest reading: Economic sentiment rose to 97.6 in February from January’s 97.1, marking the best reading since August 2022. That said, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected stronger confidence in the services sector and healthier sentiment in the industrial sector. Less positively, consumer sentiment turned sour in February, confidence among retailers deteriorated, and sentiment in the construction sector waned.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations rose, while the economic uncertainty index improved in February.