Sweden’s economy grew by 1.1 percent in August compared to July, more than twice what economists had expected. The increase followed a downturn during the summer month and was driven by higher household consumption and a significant rise in industrial production. Compared to August last year, GDP was 3.5 percent higher.

This is shown by SCB’s GDP indicator published on Friday morning. The monthly change is seasonally adjusted, while the comparison to the same month last year is calendar-adjusted. August this year had the same number of working days as the corresponding month in 2025.

At the same time, July’s figures were slightly revised upwards. The decline that month is now estimated at 0.7 percent, instead of the 0.8 percent initially reported, and the annual rate for July has been revised from 2.5 to 2.7 percent.

The outcome was considerably stronger than expected. On average, economists had forecast an increase of 0.5 percent, according to SvD, citing Bloomberg.

“Relatively Broad Increase”

The rise is described as “relatively broad” by SCB economist Melker Pettersson Loberg. According to him, it was driven among other things by household consumption and rising output in the goods-producing sectors.

The sharpest boost came from industry, where production increased by 5.4 percent from July, according to the production value index for August. The motor vehicle industry stood out with a 17.7 percent increase. The construction sector also grew significantly, by 4.1 percent, while the service sector contracted by 0.8 percent. Overall, business sector production increased by 0.5 percent during the month and was 3.8 percent higher than a year earlier.

Order intake in industry also points upward. It rose by 2.0 percent compared with July and was 5.1 percent higher than in August last year, according to the statistics on order intake and turnover.

The GDP indicator is based on a more limited and preliminary data set than the regular quarterly calculations, and the monthly figures are not yet considered official statistics. The September indicator will be presented on October 29, and the regular calculation for the third quarter will be released on November 27.

The strong figures come as the Riksbank prepares to raise interest rates. In September, the policy rate was kept unchanged at 1.75 percent, but the Riksbank assessed that a stronger economic cycle and ongoing supply disruptions require a higher rate than previously estimated, and that increases will begin this year if the outlook holds. Meanwhile, inflation according to the CPI rose to 1.1 percent in September from 0.3 percent in August, according to SCB’s flash estimate. The next interest rate decision will be announced on November 4.