FX.co ★ Swedish Economy Contracts For Second Month; Industrial Output Falls

Sweden's economy contracted for the second consecutive month in April, driven by decreased household consumption and reduced business sector production, according to data released by Statistics Sweden on Monday.

Additional official statistics indicated that industrial production also fell in April, following an increase the previous month.

Gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.7% month-on-month in April, after a 0.4% decline in March.

"Activity in the Swedish economy weakened slightly during the first month of the second quarter," stated Melker Loberg, an economist at Statistics Sweden. "This is attributed, among other factors, to somewhat reduced household consumption and production in the business sector."

On an annual basis, GDP remained unchanged in April, following a 0.7% rise in March.

The data revealed a 0.4% month-on-month and a 0.7% year-on-year decrease in household consumption in April.

Another report highlighted a significant 4.4% annual decline in industrial production in April, compared to a 2.0% rebound the previous month.

Production in the utility sector shrank by 3.0% year-on-year, while service sector output grew by 3.2%.

Construction output experienced a 4.9% annual decline in April, an improvement from the 8.0% drop recorded in March.