Q1 GDP data for Switzerland and the Nordic economies were a mixed big and proved the adage that the devil is in the detail. Switzerland and Sweden both posted the same headline growth rate (0.6% q/q). But while the breakdown of the former’s growth was broadly encouraging, the gain in Sweden was flattered by a sharp fall in imports. Meanwhile, the 0.3% increase in mainland Norwegian GDP in Q1 was weaker than we had expected but was skewed by a temporary weather-related fall in electricity production and a decline in investment after a very strong Q4. Looking ahead, surveys suggest that Q1 will be as good as it gets for quarterly GDP growth in Switzerland and Sweden this year and that the Norwegian economy will continue to outperform its Nordic peers. As a result, we expect the Norwegian krone to rise against its Swedish counterpart over the second half of this year.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to gain:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services