Sweden’s economy and exchange traded fund (ETF) have improved enough that a leading think tank in the nation is gearing up to raise its forecast for the coming year.

NIER, a state-sponsored institute which produces economic forecasts for the government, says it will raise Sweden’s outlook. The forecast for 2009 has been raised by a few tenths of a percent, while they see GDP growth in 2010 coming in around 2%. Their previous forecast called for a 5% contraction in 2009 and growth of 1.5% in 2010, reports Reuters. (Read on as to why Sweden’s banking system is an example).

Lending support to an upgrade is that consumer confidence improved in October, along with business confidence. Conversely, pessimism about unemployment and personal finances has declined, reports RTT News. (Five reasons to watch Sweden).

For more stories about Sweden, visit our Sweden category.

• iShares MSCI Sweden Index (NYSEArca: EWD): up 50.9% year-to-date

Tags: Europe, EWD, Global ETFs, Sweden