"It is astonishing that exports continue to keep up so well"
- Sarasin economist Jan Poser
Swiss Trade surplus narrowed to CHF1.733M in August, down from CHF 2.875B in the previous month, Swiss Statistics reported on Thursday. Analysts had predicted Swiss Trade Balance to rise 0.423B last month. Exports from Switzerland rose by 4.4% to 15.54 billion Swiss francs in August on a yearly basis, while imports decreased to CHF 13.806B from CHF 14.570B.
"It is astonishing that exports continue to keep up so well," said Sarasin economist Jan Poser, "In view of the strong Swiss franc, one would expect worse."
"Higher export prices are certainly also good for the SNB as it shows the deflationary risks that they were pointing to are clearly diminishing and this is why we think the floor for the euro-Swiss franc is at the right level and we don't see it increasing now," said Maxime Botteron, an economist at Credit Suisse.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies decreased by 0.22 per cent to 6,556.49. The broader Swiss Performance Index also stepped lower, namely 0.23 per cent to 6,071.67.
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