Swiss annual forecast predicts sustained economic growth

The booming global economy combined with favourable exchange rates are increasing demand for Swiss growth. Keystone

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) says that Switzerland is currently experiencing an “increasingly broad-based upswing”, predicting that its economy will continue to grow by 2.4% in 2018.

The federal government’s expert statisticsExternal link published on Tuesday indicate that the positive trend applied to Switzerland’s economy on a domestic as well as on an international level.

The booming global economy combined with favourable exchange rates are increasing demand for Swiss growth and companies can “look to the future with confidence”.

On a domestic level, the group attributes the stable growth to a recovery of the labour market and to a strengthened service industry.

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For 2019, SECO predicts that the Swiss economy’s growth will drop to 2%, largely because the global economy is expected to lose momentum after a sustained period of strong growth. 

Risks

Despite the optimistic outlook, SECO also wrote that certain “global economic risks” had increased since its last forecast was published.

The experts highlighted in particular the ongoing dispute between the US and its main trade partners, which had “escalated to new heights”.

Another risk factor identified by the report was the deepening political uncertainty in Italy, which could have a ripple effects through the financial market and could create “considerable upward pressure” for the Swiss franc.

It concluded that adjustments to this year’s forecast are still possible, with the Swiss economy either performing worse, or better, than currently predicted.