Swedish Service Sector Returns To Growth Zone In March

(RTTNews) - Sweden's service sector activity rebounded in March after a renewed contraction in February, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Tuesday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector climbed to 55.7 in March from 48.7 in February. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector, while a score above 50 suggests expansion.

"Although the service sector is in the growth zone, there are signs that the recovery has slowed down in the first quarter after the strong recovery last year," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

During March, the Swedish service sector was faced with challenges of an uncertain global situation, rising costs, and higher interest rates.

Among components, the sub-indexes for new orders and business volume were the largest positive contributors to headline PMI, followed by delivery times. Meanwhile, the employment index continued to remain below the growth zone.

Price pressures intensified in March as the index for raw and input prices rose to 64.0 in March from 61.6 in the prior month.

The composite output index also improved to 55.9 from 50.8 in February, indicating a further strong recovery momentum in the business sector.

>