The Purchasing Managers' Index for the service sector rose to 53.8 in July, according to the monthly measurement made by Swedbank and the purchasing managers' organization Silf. This can be compared to the revised 52.2 in June.
The increase was greater than expected. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 52.0 in July, according to Bloomberg.
An index value above 50 indicates increased activity in the sector.