Swedish Companies More Optimistic On Economy: Riksbank Survey
Swedish companies are now more optimistic about the economic situation though they facing difficulties in raising prices, results of the Riksbank's February 2016 Business Survey showed Monday.
Sales growth and development in the retail and construction sectors, and somewhat in the services sector, is being driven by demand, the survey said.
"But despite a strong economy, retail companies in particular expect prices to continue to develop slowly in the period ahead," the bank said in a statement.
"This is mainly due to import costs no longer rising while competition has also become tougher."
The survey noted that it has become common for companies to offer discounts to their customers.
Meanwhile, the energy and commodity sectors remain particularly weak in the export industry, which continues to face the uncertainty linked to global demand. The rest of the export industry are benefiting from a slow, but stable increase in European demand, the survey added.
Based on a detailed study, the survey found that the direct connection between the interest rate level and its effect on investment decisions remains weak for the majority of companies. On the other hand, companies indicated that a lower level of interest rates is positive for general demand and benefits sales.
The Riksbank conducts the survey thrice in a year among the largest companies in the construction, retail, manufacturing and part of the service sectors. The latest survey was conducted among 43 companies between February 11 and 29.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com
