Sweden’s February manufacturing PMI falls below forecast

Sweden's manufacturing PMI in February declined much below forecasts to 51.7. With the recent development in the global indicators, a downturn should be expected. Moreover, the PMI of Sweden continues to be in its past three years' range of 51.0-56.5. NIER's Tendency Survey said the manufacturing confidence (MCI) hinted at a more upbeat picture than the PMI readings.

All sub-indices fell, particularly overall order intakes and export order intakes dropped below 50. Rebound in the manufacturing sector is expected to continue in 2016. However, the volatility in markets in 2016 is a downside risk.