Sweden: Focus on trade balance and retail sales – Danske Bank

Analysts at Danske Bank point out that there will be two data releases for Sweden today, trade balance and retail sales both for June and will be gauging the Swedish investors interest.

Key Quotes

“The latest NIER confidence survey showed a clear drop in retailers' confidence, especially regarding durable consumer goods. At the same time, actual sales data has in fact regained some momentum recently. In May, sales rose by 3.1% (y/y) and we estimate that pace remained roughly intact in June (forecast 0.3% m/m and 3.2% y/y).”

“In terms of the trade balance, throughout May, the accumulated trade deficit was SEK12.7bn versus a SEK2.5bn deficit throughout May 2017. This is not to be taken as a sign of economic weakness though but rather the result of pretty strong domestic demand (generating high imports). For June, we estimate a trade balance close to zero.”