The Riksbank's company interviews: Recovery on a broad front but uncertainty in the period ahead

Date 18/06/2010

The economy is continuing to recover following the financial crisis but there is also concern about a setback, according to the company interviews conducted by the Riksbank in May.

The companies report that production, orders and employment are increasing, but it will take a while before demand is back to the levels that prevailed before the crisis. For the export companies it is mainly the low level of demand from Europe that is restraining development, while the markets in Asia, for example, are exhibiting good growth. Over half of the companies see the problems with public finances in the eurozone as a factor that is causing uncertainty about the development of economic activity in the period ahead.

In general, the companies are planning higher price increases next year than in the preceding years, which is a clear change compared with the previous survey in December 2009. However, most of the companies are also uncertain whether they will be able to implement these increases due to fierce competition.

Since 2007, the Riksbank conducts interviews with approximately 60 companies in the construction, retail, manufacturing and service sectors ahead of every Monetary Policy Report.