Trade's future expectations are rising ahead of the summer. A long-awaited interest rate cut from the Riksbank, and households' expectations of a stronger Swedish economy going forward, are also reflected in the Swedish Trade Barometer for the month of May, which shows that the industry has a somewhat brighter view of the future. But there are still points of concern to take into account.
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Despite future expectations increasing in all sub-sectors, trade is still predominantly pessimistic about the next three months. With this month's measurement, it can be stated that this has been the case for over two years, with all segments being below the neutral value of 100. However, the general trend during the first five months of the year is that somewhat more optimistic winds are blowing within the industry.
'This month's trading barometer follows the patterns we see elsewhere. People believe in better times ahead, largely as a result of the Riksbank's announcement of lower interest rates. But it is important to point out that we still have a long way to go, and for many of our members it is still very tough. The interest rate cut was long-awaited, but significantly more are needed,' says Sofia Larsen, CEO of Svensk Handel.
E-commerce's future expectations have risen by almost 10 units since the beginning of the year, which can largely be attributed to positive signals linked to interest rate announcements and inflation. The month's increase of 1.9 units means an indicator value of 97.8 for e-commerce. Such a strong belief in the future has not been noted since May 2022.
'It is clear that confidence in the future in e-commerce is generally going in the right direction, now we are at levels we have not seen for over two years. With each passing month, the sub-industry approaches the magical 100 mark, reflecting a positive belief in the future. Despite this, the industry faces major challenges,' says Sofia Larsen.
More information:
Svensk Handel
www.svenskhandel.se