Headlines
Sweden's finance minister sees signs of economy picking up
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Sweden's economy is recovering, with GDP growth and consumer spending rising. Finance Minister Svantesson remains cautious about inflation.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's economy is picking up speed after a period of sluggish growth, but uncertainty remains high, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said on Wednesday.
Svantesson said that consumers were beginning to start spending after a series of rate cuts by the central bank, while both industry and the household sector are more positive.
"It's not that it's very bright, but there is a light there at the end of the tunnel," she told a press conference.
The Swedish economy has struggled this year and households remain cautious about spending, despite real wage growth and eight rate cuts since spring 2024.
Other than house-builders, who are still struggling, "sentiment in Swedish business is more positive and better than normal," said Svantesson.
In the third quarter, GDP growth was however faster than expected at 1.1% from the previous quarter, according to an October 29 flash reading.
The right-wing government's budget for 2026 is the country's most expansive since the pandemic, aiming to boost households and speed up growth ahead of a general election in September.
The government expects GDP to increase 3.1% next year.
Svantesson said she was not worried that stronger growth would lead to a pick up in inflation, which is currently above the central bank's 2% target.
"It (inflation) has come in a bit higher for a number of understandable reasons, but it isn't high and I don't expect our budget, for example, to push up inflation," she said.
Flash inflation figures for October showed headline consumer prices rose 3.1% from the same month a year ago. Stripped of volatile energy prices, inflation was 2.8%.
The central bank kept its key rate on hold earlier this month at 1.75% and said the easing cycle, which started in spring last year, was now over.
Analysts expect the next move to be a hike, probably in spring 2027.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik and Alexander Smith)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total economic output of a country, representing the value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power. It is typically measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a country's central bank to control the money supply and interest rates to achieve macroeconomic goals such as controlling inflation and stabilizing currency.
A central bank is a national institution that manages a country's currency, money supply, and interest rates, often overseeing the banking system and implementing monetary policy.
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