Services growth eased from June’s peak, employment fell to a new annual low and cost pressures cooled sharply, while the composite reading also retreated from a seven-month high.
Sweden’s services PMI fell to 54.2 in July 2026 from a revised 56.5 in June, pulling back after the strongest reading since November 2025 but remaining above the average for the first seven months of the year of 53.7. The slowdown was broad-based, with delivery times, new orders and business volume all weakening, while the employment index dropped to a new annual low of 45.9 from 47.7. Cost pressures continued to ease markedly as the raw and intermediate goods price index declined to 65.5 from 75.1, capping a 17-point fall over two months that was the largest in the index’s 21-year history. Sweden’s composite PMI also fell to 54.7 in July from a seven-month high of 56.9 in June, indicating private-sector activity remained in expansion territory but lost momentum after a strong prior month.