Swedish Q1 Current Account Surplus Larger than Expected

Sweden's current account surplus increased to SEK 88.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023 from SEK 75.7 billion in the same period last year, easily beating market forecasts of SEK 60.5 billion, as the goods surplus surged to SEK 74.4 billion from SEK 60.4 billion a year ago, while primary income, which consists mainly of compensation of employees and investment income, presented a surplus of SEK 55.1 billion in the first quarter, down slightly from SEK 55.6 billion.

In addition, the secondary income, which includes international cooperation and donations and contributions to the EU, presented a deficit of SEK 28.5 billion, down from SEK 32 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the services deficit widened to SEK 12.6 billion from 8.7 billion.