Unusually strong upsurge in April

The Economic Tendency Indicator climbed no fewer than 7.6 points to 113.4 in April. All of the sector indicators contributed to the increase, with the retail indicator leaping 18 points.

The confidence indicator for the manufacturing industry gained 3.3 points and continues to show a very strong situation. The increase was due primarily to firms' view of their stocks. One segment that performed particularly well in April was the food industry, where the indicator rose 13 points.

The confidence indicator for the building and civil engineering industry climbed 3.0 points to 100.0, thanks to firms reporting less pessimistic employment plans than in March.

The confidence indicator for the retail trade shot up 18.3 points. This was due mainly to expectations of higher sales volumes in the coming months, but also to fewer firms reporting excessive stocks and to higher sales volumes in recent months.

The confidence indicator for the service sector also rose in April and shows stronger sentiment than normal. All of the questions included in the indicator contributed fairly equally to the increase.

The consumer confidence indicator climbed 5.8 points to 103.2 and has not been this strong since September 2018. The improvement was broad-based, with four of the five questions included in the indicator contributing positively. Both the macro index and the micro index, which summarise consumers' view of the Swedish economy and their own finances respectively, increased to around the same extent as the overall indicator.