STOCKHOLM, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's economy shrank by 8.6 percent in the second quarter of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Sweden (SCB) said Wednesday.
The government agency released the early compilation of the country's second quarter GDP indicator on Wednesday, saying the drop was the largest quarterly decline in 40 years.
"It is a dramatic reduction but in line with expectations," said Mattias Kain Wyatt, statistician at the SCB.
The decline is mainly due to falling exports and household consumption, according to the SCB.
SCB said the GDP indicator is an early compilation of the quarterly national accounts and is based on more limited and preliminary data. The regular estimate of Sweden's GDP will be published at the end of this month. Enditem
