Economists see slight upturn in Swiss economic fortunes as year closes

The machine manufacturing sector is one of several still experiencing some difficulties, the KOF institute said. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The outlook for the coming months has also brightened somewhat, but remains moderate, according to a much-followed economic indicator.

Slight upswings in industry and household consumption led to a small rise in the Swiss Institute for Economic Research (KOF) barometer over the past month, the federal technology institute ETH Zurich said on Friday.

In December, this indicator, which is closely followed by economic circles, rose by 0.6 points to 97.8 points, ETH Zurich said. However, the barometer is still running below its multi-year average.

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The indicator is however at the top end of the forecast field, with economists polled by the AWP news agency previously saying they expected a range of between 95 and 98 points.

In the manufacturing sector, there were slight upturns in production, but the business situation and inventory levels reportedly remain worrying. Other sectors remained virtually unchanged from November.

The textile, mechanical engineering and electronics industries are experiencing the greatest difficulties, while the paper-printing and metalworking sectors are seeing improvements, according to the barometer.

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