Swedish Services Growth Accelerates In August

(RTTNews) - The Swedish service sector expanded at a faster pace in August, survey results from Swedbank and the logistics association Silf showed on Thursday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the services sector rose to 55.8 in August from 54.3 in July. A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. Moreover, the reading stayed above the average for the first eight months of the year.

Among components, business volume accounted for the largest positive contribution, followed by employment, delivery times, and order intake.

"However, service companies are still holding off on hiring new employees, and perhaps we need a longer period of stronger service sector activity before employment picks up," Swedbank Analyst Jorgen Kennermar said.

Price pressures cooled in August, with the index for raw and intermediate goods prices falling to a 6-month low of 61.6 in August from 66.4 in July.

The composite output index climbed to 55.9 in August from 54.7 in July, indicating that the recovery in the Swedish business sector has broadened during the third quarter.