Sweden: Economic sentiment hits highest reading since August 2022 in March
Economic sentiment came in at 93.0 in March, up from February’s 92.2. March’s result marked the strongest sentiment since August 2022. Despite the uptick, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected healthier confidence in the services sector in March, while confidence in the retail sector was up in the surveyed month. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment increased in March. Less positively, sentiment in the industrial and construction sectors declined.
Referring to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations improved, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in March.