The Activity Index, which measures the activity in the Swedish economy, increased slightly in July 2008. The change in the trend was 0.1 percent in July, which corresponds to an annual rate of 1.7 percent.
The increase of the Activity Index in July can be explained by the positive contribution from foreign trade of goods. Sales in retail trade and the industrial production also contributed slightly to the increase. The number of hours worked by employees in the government sector had no impact on the change in the Activity Index.
The change in the trend of the Activity Index for the period July 2007 – July 2008 was 1.8 percent. The seasonally adjusted index increased by 0.2 percent in July compared to June.
See below for more information regarding deviations between the Activity Index and GDP. When calibrating the Activity Index to GDP this month the flash GDP figures of the second quarter 2008 have been used.