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Bloomberg
Sweden’s economy unexpectedly contracted in April, as weaker consumer spending dampened the largest Nordic economy’s rapid recovery from the pandemic.
Gross domestic product (GD)P) shrinks 1.4% from the previous month, according to preliminary data from Statistics Sweden. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected a 0.3%
expansion.
Sweden has enjoyed a rebound driven by manufacturing and exports, and its economy expanded by 0.8% in the first three months of the year. Through most of April, Sweden saw the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases rising, and ICU beds filling ups. Since then, cases have gone down and pressure on the health care system has eased considerably.
Household consumption shrank 5.1% in the month, following a revised 0.7% gain in March, the statistics office said. Still, consumption is expected to pick up pace after the country started easing restrictions to contain the coronavirus
transmission on June 1.