Sweden Trade Surplus Grows; Producer Prices Fall Further

(RTTNews) - Sweden's foreign trade surplus increased in January from a year ago as imports fell faster than exports, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Wednesday.

Separate official data showed that producer prices fell for the ninth successive month in January amid cheaper energy costs.

The trade surplus rose to SEK 13.3 billion in January from SEK 9.4 billion in the corresponding month last year. In December, the surplus was SEK 1.9 billion.

On an annual basis, exports declined 3.0 percent, and imports showed a fall of 5.0 percent.

The non-EU trade balance showed a surplus of SEK 20.1 billion in January, while the trade balance with the EU revealed a deficit of SEK 6.8 billion.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the trade surplus was SEK 8.5 billion in January, compared to SEK 9.0 billion in the previous month.

The producer price index dropped 2.3 percent year-on-year in January, much slower than the 7.7 percent fall in the previous month. Further, this was the slowest decrease in six months.

Prices for energy-related goods alone plunged by 10.9 percent annually in January, while those for capital goods rose by 4.0 percent.

Excluding energy-related products, producer price deflation in January was 0.5 percent.

On a monthly basis, producer prices moved up 0.3 percent versus a 1.6 percent decline in December.