Sweden's services sector contracted further in April, though at a slower rate than in the previous month, signaling continued weakness in activity in the sector, data released by Swedbank showed Monday.
The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the service sector moved up to 48.6 in April from 47.3 in March, but remained below the no-change 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
New orders received by service sector firms decreased at a notably slower rate in April, contributing to the deceleration of the overall contraction.
In line with the decrease in new business, service providers lowered their workforces for the second successive month, though at a slightly slower rate than in the previous month. Input prices in the sector decreased for the fist time in nine months in April.
At the same time, entrepreneurs in the sector turned more pessimistic about the prospects of their businesses in the next six months amid shrinking order books.
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