2016-05-26
Economic Tendency Survey May 2016
Business confidence down but still in positive territory
The Economic Tendency Indicator fell for a fourth successive month in May but still points to somewhat stronger sentiment than normal. This optimism is limited to the business sector, however, as households are more pessimistic than normal, their view of both their personal finances and the Swedish economy weakening in May.
Firms remain relatively positive about demand. Recruitment plans, which have been above the historical average since autumn 2013, point to increased employment in the business sector over the next three months. All sectors report more optimistic recruitment plans than normal.
Firms in the manufacturing industry report relatively good growth in orders and production in recent months, but production plans for the next three months have been revised down and were below the historical average in May.
Building and civil engineering firms’ expectations of activity levels fell in May but continue to indicate stronger levels than normal. Although a high proportion of firms cited a shortage of labour as the main obstacle to increased activity, recruitment plans for the next three months remain much more optimistic than normal.
Retailers anticipate increased sales volumes in the coming months and continue to have more optimistic expectations than normal. A relatively high proportion anticipate higher selling prices over the next three months. Firms in the service sector are more restrained and expect demand for their services to increase roughly in line with the historical average in the coming months.
NIER publishes consumers’ expectations of housing prices
Consumers’ responses to two new questions about expectations of housing prices are published for the first time in the Economic Tendency Survey for May.
Get the time series for housing prices in the statistical database, table "Household, interest rates and inflation".
Indicators
Max | Min | Mar 2016 | Apr 2016 | May 2016 | Change | Situation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Economic Tendency Indicator | 117,3 | 67,6 | 106,1 | 104,0 | 102,2 | -1,8 | + |
Confidence indicators: | |||||||
Total industry | 119,2 | 67,3 | 106,4 | 106,1 | 103,7 | -2,4 | + |
Manufacturing | 121,6 | 64,3 | 111,6 | 107,2 | 105,3 | -1,9 | + |
Building and civil engineering | 122,3 | 79,2 | 110,3 | 110,3 | 110,1 | -0,2 | ++ |
Retail Trade | 124,1 | 66,8 | 105,0 | 106,9 | 105,5 | -1,4 | + |
Private service sectors | 119,4 | 70,8 | 101,2 | 102,0 | 100,1 | -1,9 | = |
Consumer | 121,2 | 46,5 | 99,3 | 96,6 | 96,0 | -0,6 | - |
Note. The standardisation of the Economic Tendency Indicator means that it cannot be calculated as a weighted mean of the levels of the sector confidence indicators.
The indicators are revised each month when the time series are seasonally adjusted. The values will often then move slightly up or down.
The situation is: ++ very strong, + strong, = normal, - weak, -- very weak.
The confidence indicator for the total industry is obtained by weighting the confidence indicators for building and civil engineering, manufacturing, the retail trade and the private service sector on the basis of the number of employees in the population. These weights are different to those used in the calculation of the Economic Tendency Indicator.
The confidence indicator for the private service sector has been estimated for January 1996 to November 2001 on the basis of quarterly series for a limited number of service industries.
Household expectations on inflation and interest rate
Mar 2016 | Apr 2016 | May 2016 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Expected inflation 12 months ahead, mean excluding extreme values (percent) | 1,5 | 1,5 | 1,6 | 0,1 |
Expected inflation 12 months ahead, mean all answers (percent) | 1,8 | 1,6 | 1,9 | 0,3 |
Expected inflation 12 months ahead, median (percent) | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 | 1,0 |
Interest rate expectation, mean excluding extreme values (percent): | ||||
1 year ahead | 2,10 | 2,08 | 2,10 | 0,02 |
2 years ahead | 2,61 | 2,59 | 2,60 | 0,01 |
5 years ahead | 3,49 | 3,35 | 3,38 | 0,03 |