Finland: Economic activity drops at sharpest pace since November 2009 in May
Economic activity dropped 5.5% year-on-year in working-day adjusted terms in May (April: -5.3% yoy). The reading marked the third consecutive contraction in monthly activity and the worst reading since November 2009.
May’s deterioration was driven by a steeper contraction in output in the secondary sector—which includes manufacturing and construction—and the services sector. However, the primary sector—encapsulating agriculture, forestry and fishing sub-sectors—grew strongly in the month, softening the overall decline somewhat.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, economic activity fell at a sharper rate of 0.7% in May (April: -0.2% mom). Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of economic activity coming in at minus 0.4% in May, contrasting April’s plus 0.2% reading and marking the first contraction since October 2015.