The Swedish central bank, Riksbank, said that economic activity had strengthened since January this year in Sweden.

“We are slowly moving in the right direction”, “Sluggish but marked upturn” and “We are now planning to increase our prices”, said the Riksbank in a statement based on Business Survey, which was conducted in May.

The survey also showed that “the improvements in economic activity are small but noticeable in most sectors. Increased demand from abroad has benefited the export companies at the same time as domestic demand has strengthened, in part due to an increase in housing construction and rising household consumption.”

According to the survey, economic activity will continue to strengthen in Sweden in the period ahead, although there is some risk of setbacks in the global economy.

“The companies consider that prices have been held back over the last 12 months by weak demand, strong competition and relatively low cost increases for wages and intermediate goods. Expectations of a better economic climate in the period ahead mean that the companies are planning to increase their prices and at the same time improve their margins,” said the statement.

However, overall price increases are expected to be moderate over the next 12 months and will be highly dependent on the development of economic activity, the Riksbank added.

This article was produced by China’s state-controlled news agency Xinhua.