- VP Bank economist Bernd Hartmann
Swiss companies are getting less worried about the economy and expect a rise in exports in the fourth quarter of 2012 as the Swiss National Bank aimed to curb the currency's strength a year ago. The Credit Suisse export barometer, which indicates foreign demand for Swiss products, improved to -0.86 in the fourth quarter of this year, from -0.92 in the prior quarter.
"The Swiss economy will have to get used to a weaker economic momentum," said VP Bank economist Bernd Hartmann. "There is a lack of fresh impulses in the shape of investments despite record low interest rates. The question is: Where is growth in the near future supposed to come from?"
"The international economic slowdown has also reached Switzerland," the State Secretariat for Economics (Seco) experts said. "However, the group does not foresee a marked recession in Switzerland thanks to the robust domestic economy and the exchange rate floor against the euro."
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, fell 0.30 per cent to 6,629.04. The broader Swiss Performance Index turned lower 0.36 per cent to 6,114.41.
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