Sweden retail sales rise more than expected in Nov, upward trend seems intact

Swedish retail sales rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent, from 0.8 percent in the preceding month (revised up from 0.7 percent), Statistics Sweden's official data showed on Thursday. Data was better than economists' expectations for a 0.5 percent rise.

Retail sales rose to 3.6 percent year-over-year in November from 2.4 percent in the previous month. November figures may have been boosted by the increased influence of Black Friday, which suggest the momentum may not continue into December.

Short-term indicators of retail sales remain mixed. While consumer confidence stays elevated, retailers are pretty pessimistic on the present sales situation. The retailers declined sentiment reflected on lower growth pace in 2016.

"With lower income growth and a more subdued development on the housing market we expect growth in retail sales to subside somewhat during next year," said Nordea Bank in a report.

FxWirePro's Hourly USD Spot Index was at -17.0678 (Neutral) at 1315 GMT. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex.