Sweden’s gross domestic product surged in the final quarter of 2017 as demand from an increasingly robust global economy boosted exports, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday. GDP grew 0.9% from the previous three months and 3.3% from a year earlier. Median forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists were 1% and 3.4%, respectively. “This confirms the picture of strong growth in the Swedish economy, which will continue for some time, even though there are some worries, like the retail sector,” Nordea analyst Andreas Wallstrom said. The economy has enjoyed robust growth for several years, expanding 2.4% in 2017. Despite this, interest rates remain at crisis levels and the central bank may yet postpone plans for policy tightening. Unemployment has been falling, construction investment has surged in response to a shortfall in housing, and companies report a shortage of skilled workers. Property prices have soared, but overall inflation remains sluggish, despite three years of negative rates, and the central bank is committed to getting it back to the 2% target.
