Global| Nov 24 2006Sweden's Strong Exports Limit Harm from Energy Price Surge
Summary
Sweden's trade balance widened in October from a year ago to SKr10.6 billion from SKr10.2 billion. Exports expanded SKr11.4 billion, or 13.0%, while imports gained SKr11.0 billion, a 14.2% increase. Statistics Sweden reported these [...]
Sweden's trade balance widened in October from a year ago to SKr10.6 billion from SKr10.2 billion. Exports expanded SKr11.4 billion, or 13.0%, while imports gained SKr11.0 billion, a 14.2% increase.
Statistics Sweden reported these totals for October this morning, and they published the details by type of product through September. The largest Swedish export category is machinery and transport equipment; these were SKr42.6 billion in September, constituting 45.2% of total exports. These products include cars, construction machinery and office equipment, among others. "Other manufactured goods" exports totaled SKr19.1 billion in September and were 20.3% of the total. Both of these large segments have diminished somewhat in importance over the last couple of years, as mineral fuel shipments have expanded. For growth comparisons, we use the average of 2004, the period just prior to the recent explosion in energy prices. A mere SKr4.6 billion in September, Sweden's refined petroleum product shipments were, nonetheless, almost 47% larger than in 2004, compared with 23% increases over that period for the other manufactured goods and capital goods.
On the import side, machinery purchases were SKr31.2 billion in September, up 25% from the 2004 average. Other manufactured goods were SKr13.1 billion, compared with SKr9.3 billion in 2004. Mineral fuel imports increased a great deal more, some 70% on a base of SKr6.0 billion, bringing them to SKr10.2 billion.
Sweden's strength in manufacturing, particularly of capital goods, has enabled it to weather the energy price surge fairly well. The base for this performance was actually set in the early 1990s when its exports grew rapidly, lifting its trade accounts to a substantial surplus following years of little or no positive balance, a critical position for this very open economy. Exports have been vigorous again since 2003.
| SWEDEN, NSA, Bil.Kr Selected Item | Oct 2006 | Sept 2006 | Aug 2006 | Oct 2005 | Monthly Averages|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |||||
| Trade Balance | +10.6 | +11.4 | +8.2 | +10.2 | +11.7 | +13.8 | +12.2 |
| Exports | 99.0 | 94.3 | 83.1 | 87.6 | 81.0 | 75.4 | 68.8 |
| Mineral Fuels | -- | 4.6 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| Machinery & Transport Equip | -- | 42.6 | 35.0 | 39.6 | 36.4 | 34.6 | 31.3 |
| Imports | 88.4 | 82.9 | 74.9 | 77.4 | 69.3 | 61.6 | 56.6 |
| Mineral Fuels | -- | 10.2 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 6.0 | 5.4 |
| Machinery & Transport Equip | -- | 31.2 | 26.3 | 25.1 | 27.3 | 24.9 | 22.9 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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