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Watch exports pick up in November

Swiss watchmakers exported products worth SFr1.36 billion ($1.3 billion) in November - their best monthly result this year.

The Federation of the Watch Industry said the value represented a drop of 10.6 per cent compared with November 2008, possibly marking the end of the decline. In October exports fell 22.7 per cent.

Over the past 11 months, the sector exported the equivalent of SFr12 billion – a decrease of nearly 24 per cent.

The decline was most pronounced in the segment of top-end wristwatches which cost more than SFr3,000 a piece.

The SFr200-500 category recorded a growth rate of around 20 per cent.

Of the top 30 markets accounting for most of the total value of Swiss watch exports, ten, including China and Singapore, recorded growth.

The United States and Hong Kong as well as Germany, France and Italy showed a negative trend.

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