Electricity prices across the Baltic Sea region went down last week as demand for power declined due to improved weather conditions.

Scapa Baltic, a Swedish-owned Lithuanian company that manufactures soft leather and tapestry furniture for the Scandinavian market, posted 36.176 mln euros in revenue for the last financial year, up 1.5% from 35.651 mln euros a year earlier.

Statistics Lithuania informs that, based on the data from the Building Permits and State Construction Supervision Information System of the Republic of Lithuania (IS) Infostatyba, in IV quarter 2016, against IV quarter 2015, the number of building permits issued increased by 13.8%, of which for the construction of new residential buildings – by 27.9%.

Lithuania in the fourth quarter of 2016 registered the largest quarterly increase in construction output in the European Union, figures from the EU statistical office Eurostat showed on Friday.

According to the results of the Survey of the Payment Habits of Lithuanian Residents, in 2016 survey participants holding accounts made utility payments slightly more often online, while at payment institutions – less often. Other payments, by nearly all of the surveyed, were made online rather than at bank or credit union branches. Cash payments were made somewhat less frequently at trading venues.

The average price of electricity in Nord Pool Spot's Lithuanian bidding area declined by 27% over the past year to 36.9 euros per megawatt-hour in January. M-o-m, the price climbed 6%, Litgrid said on Wednesday.

Maxima Grupe (Maxima Group), the operator of retail chains in the Baltics, Poland and Bulgaria, saw its consolidated retail turnover ticked up 0.2% to 2.684 bln euros (excluding VAT) in 2016 year-on-year.

Spending by foreign visitors at Lithuanian retail stores fell by 11% in 2016 compared with 2015 and the value of the average shopping basket was down by 5%, the business daily Verslo Zinios reported on Tuesday, citing data from the tax refund company Global Blue Lietuva.

Lithuanian-owned, Warsaw-listed aviation business group Avia Solutions Group (ASG) is planning to expand in Asia in the next three years, but it would not disclose how much money it intends to invest in that market.

Lithuania's beer market leader Svyturys -Utenos Alus, which is part of Carlsberg, one of the world's largest beer groups, will sack 20 employees out of the 57 in Klaipeda. The company has breweries in Klaipeda and Utena.