"Switzerland's progress comes in tandem with slightly more optimistic expectations for economic growth in the euro zone"
-Credit Suisse's Maxime Botteron and Lena Jaroszek of the ZEW
As it was widely expected the Alpine country is building up steam, and after a stronger-than-expected GDP figures in the second quarter, the economy is likely to accelerate even further, supported by improvement in consumers' and investors' mood. A gauge of investor confidence soared to its five-month high this month, as the nation's biggest trading partner, the Eurozone, emerged from its longest-ever recession. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research said an index of analyst and investor expectations, which is designed to predict economic development in the next six months, jumped to 16.3 in September from August's 7.2, hitting the highest since April. The figure can be a welcoming sign for the economy as survey's respondents are highly informed by virtue of their job, hence any changes in their mood can be interpreted as a signal for future economic activity.
Later this week the Swiss National Bank is gathering to decide whether to introduce any changes in its policy, however analysts are claiming the SNB is likely to hold interest rates unchanged at record-low levels, as they are still concerned about muted inflation. While Swiss authorities are also expected to keep its cap on the Swiss Franc, this all adds up a likely drop in Franc's value and its weakness against the single currency is widely expected to accelerate during the next couple of weeks.
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