Finland: Monthly economic activity contracts at softer pace in November
Economic activity dropped 0.4% in month-on-month and seasonally adjusted terms in November, which was a smaller contraction than October’s revised 0.5% decrease. Looking at the details of the release, the primary sector—which includes the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing subsectors—swung into contraction in November, which exacerbated the negative impact of a sharper drop in the services sector. Meanwhile, the secondary sector declined at a milder rate.
On an annual basis, economic activity fell 0.4% in November, contrasting Octobers 0.3% expansion and marking the worst result since February 2021. Accordingly, annual average economic activity growth fell to 2.1% in November (October: +2.4%), pointing to a worsening trend.
Commenting on the outlook, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, said:
“The Finnish economy is set to remain under strain over the course of 2023. A fast recovery seems unlikely as the current drivers of economic weakness are set to persist over the coming quarters. While inflation is expected to moderate during 2023, real wage growth is set to remain negative for quite some time to come as energy prices are expected to remain elevated. That will put pressure on consumption growth as purchasing power will remain squeezed. Exports are also set to remain under pressure in Finland as the main export markets are likely to experience mixed economic activity this year.”