By Ed Frankl
Swiss economic sentiment rose for a third-straight month in January, recovering above its medium-term average, helped by an improving outlook for the tourism and services sector, a survey said Tuesday.
The KOF Economic Barometer, which reflects how the Swiss economy could perform in the near future, rose by 3.5 points on month to 101.5 points in January. It marked the first time since March last year that it rose above its average 100-mark.
“There are increasing signs that the Swiss economy will soon recover,” the KOF Institute said.
Prospects for accommodation industry and for the services sector in particular improved at the start of the year, it said.
Measures for manufacturing, construction and foreign demand were slightly more positive in the month, while consumer demand was virtually unchanged, KOF said. Only the outlook for finance and insurance activity weakened, it said.
The Swiss National Bank said last month that economic growth is likely to be weak in the coming quarters amid low global demand and tight financing conditions, forecasting the country’s economy set to expand between 0.5% and 1% in 2024.
However, with the SNB likely to start cutting interest rates in the spring, as some economists predict, conditions could improve to help the economy.
Write to Ed Frankl at [email protected]
Read the full article here
