Strong signals from manufacturing

The Economic Tendency Indicator increased marginally from 119.4 in September to 120.0 in October. The consumer confidence indicator fell for a second month, however, and is now beginning to approach its historical average.

The confidence indicator for the manufacturing industry climbed 2.4 points in October to another record high. Limited stocks and packed order books explain the indicator’s extraordinarily high level.

The confidence indicator for the building and civil engineering industry increased marginally and shows much stronger sentiment than normal. The indicator for building firms rose, while the indicator for civil engineering fell somewhat.

The confidence indicator for the retail trade gained for a second month, from 115.7 to 117.0, due to firms’ sales volumes having grown comparatively strongly. The indicator would have risen further had expectations for future sales volumes not weakened.

The confidence indicator for the service sector increased marginally to 112.2, and there were also only marginal changes in the individual questions.

The consumer confidence indicator fell 3.5 points to 103.1. All of the questions contributed to the decrease, but it was due particularly to consumers being less positive about whether now is a good time to make major purchases and about the Swedish economy compared to 12 months ago.

Extra material

Response option for production constraints amended Pdf, 62.7 kB.