STOCKHOLM: Sweden's economy surged ahead in the first quarter of 2019, boosted by a weak crown, data from the Statistics Office published on Wednesday showed, increasing the chances the central bank will hike its benchmark rate late this year.
Gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter from the previous three-month period and rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier.
The median forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists had been for a 0.2 percent expansion in the quarter and an increase of 1.7 percent from a year earlier.
The economy shows little sign of slowing despite years of strong growth and worries about the impact of a global trade spat and factors like Brexit.
Exports rose 0.8 percent from the previous quarter as businesses got a boost from a weaker crown, trading at around its lowest levels for a decade against the euro and 17 years versus the dollar.
The weaker currency also held back imports, adding a total of 0.7 percent to GDP.
The crown strengthened sharply on the data.
The strong economic performance is good news for the Riksbank which has forecast it will hike rates toward the end of the year or at the start of 2020.
Strong growth is likely to help hold inflation around the central bank's 2 percent target.
The Riksbank had a forecast for growth of 1.7 percent in the quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.
For the full year, the Riksbank sees growth of 1.7 percent, down from a revised 2.4 percent in 2018.
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