Swedish Consumer, Business Confidence Improve In October

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Consumer confidence in Sweden improved further in October, as households' pessimism regarding the Swedish economy moderated slightly, the National Institute of Economic Research or NIER said Wednesday.At the same time, business confidence also increased in October.

The consumer confidence index rose to 7.5 in October from 5.6 in the previous month, and was higher than economists' expectations of a reading of 6. The index has risen gradually since May and remained above the historic average. Sentiment regarding the current situation on the economy improved, but was still negative. About 55% of households considered the economy to be weaker now than 12 months earlier, compared to 62% in September.

Households were less pessimistic about the unemployment situation in one year, with only 51% expecting unemployment to rise in one year compared to 56% last month. At the same time, consumers' inflation expectation edged higher to 1.9% in October from 1.8% in September. Consumers' confidence on personal finances remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, the business confidence indicator climbed to minus 1 in October from minus 13 in July when the previous survey was conducted. "The indicator has now risen 24 points from its lowest level in the first quarter of 2009", the NIER said. Manufacturing confidence moved up to minus 12 from minus 20, and came in better than economists' expectation for a reading of minus 17.1.

Similarly, the construction confidence rose to minus 33 from minus 40, and the trade confidence moved up to minus 12 from minus 21. Confidence in the private service sectors rose to minus 6 from minus 18.

The economic sentiment indicator, which comprises both consumer and business confidence, rose to 94.8 in October from 90.7 in September. Economists expected the index to be 93.

Elsewhere, the Statistics Sweden said the retail sales rose 2.7% on a yearly basis in September, much faster than a 1.2% growth in September. Economists expected a 3% rise. This represents the sixth consecutive month of increase in sales. Month-on-month, the seasonally adjusted sales rose 0.2% in September, after a 2.3% fall in August, revised downward from a 2.1% drop reported initially. In the July to September period, retail sales were flat on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 1.2% growth in the previous three months.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)