Swedish Services Growth Strongest In Over 3 Years

(RTTNews) - Sweden's services activity expanded at the quickest pace in just over three years in September, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Friday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector rose to 57.7 in September from 53.8 in August. A score above 50 suggests expansion in the sector.

Among components, business volume accounted for the largest contribution to the upturn in the services PMI, followed by employment and rising delivery times, while the index for order movements pulled down.

"Lower interest rates from the Riksbank and an expansionary fiscal policy may lift the service sector in the long term, something that may be reflected in the strong September figures," Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar said.

Inflationary pressures moderated in September, as the index for raw materials and intermediate goods prices fell to 53.5 from 55.8 in August.

The composite output index also climbed to 57.1 in September from 54.2 in August, indicating a strong acceleration in the Swedish private sector growth.