Survey data from Swedbank and the logistics association SILF showed that Sweden's manufacturing activity maintained a steady pace in March, following an eighteen-month period of contraction.
The Swedbank Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector indicated a rise to 50.0 in March, up from 49.2 in February. The PMI is a measure of the economic health of the manufacturing sector: a reading below 50 signifies a contraction, whereas a reading above 50 points toward expansion.
The most significant contributors to the increase in the headline PMI were from the manufacturing indices. This was followed by increases in received orders and employment. In contrast, delivery times and inventory purchases negatively affected the PMI.
Swedbank analyst Jorgen Kennemar remarked that this data points towards a sunnier outlook for the Swedish industrial economy. However, he noted that business remains slow in several of Sweden's principal export markets, particularly Germany.
The index that gauges suppliers' raw and input goods prices dropped in March to 45.9 from February's 47.0. This suggests that the trend of price reductions in the industry is still ongoing.
