Finland: Economic growth moderates in February
Economic activity grew a working-day adjusted 1.7% in February compared to the same month a year earlier, down from the revised 2.1% rise in January (previously reported: +1.5% year-on-year). The headline reading was dampened by a strong slowdown in services production, which is the largest output category in Finland. Moreover, primary production, which captures the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors, slowed notably. More positively, secondary production, which includes the manufacturing and construction sectors, grew 3.0% or more for the third consecutive month.
A month-on-month comparison shows that economic activity on a seasonally-adjusted basis fell 0.3% in February, contrasting 0.4% growth in January. Average year-on-year growth in economic activity was unchanged at January’s 2.0%.