Swedish retail sales rise above expectations in July

Swedish retail sales rose above consensus expectations in July. Sequentially, the retail sales grew 0.4 percent, whereas it grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in July, as compared with consensus expectations of 0.3 percent rise sequentially and 3 percent year-on-year. The rise in July was mainly driven by a solid growth in June, and sales are on a healthy upward trend.

The solid retail sales are a good news for GDP growth in the third quarter. Nevertheless, it is not necessarily a sign that Swedish households are back on track. The soft SEK normally attracts foreign tourists and stimulates border trade. Therefore, strong retail sales do not erase all question marks as for household consumption, said Nordea Bank in a research report.