Finland: Monthly economic activity notches quickest growth since April in September
Economic activity grew 0.2% month on month in seasonally adjusted terms in September, improving from the prior month’s flat result and marking the best reading since April. Looking at the details of the release, the rise was largely driven by a softer fall in the primary sector—which includes the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing subsectors. Meanwhile, the secondary sector decelerated, and the services sector grew at a steady pace.
On an annual basis, economic activity decreased 0.3% in working-day adjusted terms in September, which was greater than August’s 0.2% fall. Consequently, annual average economic activity growth fell to 0.5% in September (August: +0.7%), which marked an over two-year low.
Statistics Finland also released preliminary national accounts data for the third quarter. GDP is estimated to have declined 0.9% in seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, deteriorating markedly from the prior quarter’s 0.6% expansion. Q3’s result marked the worst since Q2 2020—the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.