Sweden cuts growth forecast as economy slows

Sweden cut its growth outlook Tuesday as the Nordic country, one of Europe's strongest economies, shows further signs of slowing. "The slow recovery around the world is holding back the growth of the Swedish economy," Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said in a statement. Growth last year is now expected to have totalled just 1.8 percent, down from the 2.1 percent expansion in gross domestic product it forecast in October.
The government also cut its 2015 growth forecast by 0.6 percentage points to 2.4 percent, and the 2016 forecast by 0.5 points to 2.7 percent. The government's goal of balancing the country's books will not be reached before 2018, Tuesday's forecast showed. "It's not looking better than in the autumn, quite the opposite. The money has run out," Andersson said at a later press conference. "The government now has a forecast that is much in line with ours," Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordea bank, told AFP.