According to preliminary data from Statistics Sweden, the country's economy contracted for the fourth quarter in a row, ending March. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) saw a sequential decrease of 0.1 percent in the first quarter, mirroring the same decline as in the fourth quarter, meeting expectations.
When compared to the previous year, the GDP contraction rate was 0.2 percent, as opposed to a 1.1 percent fall in the December quarter. The economy experienced a stable contraction rate of 0.3 percent in March, marking the second consecutive monthly fall.
Additional official data revealed that retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in March, after a rise of 0.5 percent in February, which was the first decline in four months. Both consumables and durable goods sales saw a contraction of 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively over the month.