The top Nordic economy expanded by 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year, avoiding a technical recession following a 0.2 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“The upturn is mainly explained by an increase in inventories and by a strong growth in the export of goods,” Statistics Sweden said in a statement.
Analysts were on average expecting 0.1 percent growth, according to Bloomberg.
A preliminary estimate published by Statistics Sweden at the end of April had put growth at 0.2 percent.
Year-on-year, GDP grew by 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the 0.3 percent preliminary figure.
The upturn comes despite the central bank’s rate-hike campaign against inflation, which is still hovering around 10 percent.
According to its April forecast, the central bank expects the Swedish economy to contract 0.7 percent for 2023 as a whole.
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