In Sweden, production of the basic metal industry increased by 5.5 percent to SEK 1.4 billion ($170.23 million) in the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of 2014, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB). In the first three months of this year, the country's manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, decreased by 1.6 percent to SEK 212.5 million ($25.83 million) compared to the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, capacity utilization of the basic metal industry in Sweden increased by 2.1 percentage points during the first quarter of 2015 compared to the last quarter of 2014 and decreased by 1.8 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2014 in seasonally adjusted figures.