Swiss economic growth slows

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) revealed on Thursday that Switzerland's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3 percent q-o-q in the second quarter of 2019, after a revised 0.4 percent q-o-q growth in the previous quarter (originally a 0.6 percent q-o-q advance).

Economists had forecast the Swiss economy would expand by 0.2 percent q-o-q.

According to the report, private consumption rose by 0.3 percent q-o-q in the second quarter, supported by expenditure for healthcare, housing and energy. Meanwhile, government consumption edged up 0.1 percent q-o-q. Investment in construction registered a marginal drop of 0.1 percent q-o-q, while investment in equipment recorded a quite substantial decline of 1.0 percent. Exports of goods fell by 0.8 percent q-o-q, while imports of goods and services also dropped by 0.6 percent q-o-q.

In y-o-y terms, Swiss GDP grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, following a revised 1.0 percent advance in the first quarter (originally an increase of 1.7 percent). This represented the weakest growth since a 0.4 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2009 and was well below economists’ forecasts for a 0.9 percent gain.