In Sweden, seasonally adjusted industrial production decreased by two percent in January compared to December last year, and was down 7.8 percent year on year in calendar adjusted figures, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB). According to SCB, on year-on-year basis industrial production decreased for the fifth consecutive month.
The negative development is explained by decreases within the majority of the industry sub-sectors. The motor vehicle industry and the industry for fabricated metal products together with the machinery industry showed the weakest development. In addition, total new orders from the domestic market and the export market in Swedish industry decreased by 5.4 percent in January this year compared to the same month of 2012.
In January, Swedish basic metal output decreased by 16.2 percent year on year and was down 4.2 percent compared to December 2012. In the period in question, the country's manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment output, fell by 20.4 percent compared to January 2012 and was down 9.2 percent month on month.
On the other hand, in January new orders for basic metals in Sweden decreased 18.2 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by the decreases in both domestic and export orders. Meanwhile, new orders for the Swedish fabricated metal products industry, except machinery and equipment, decreased by 19.8 percent in January on year-on-year basis.