Worsening international conditions will have a negative impact on Switzerland’s export-driven economy, prompting the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) to lower its forecast for this year.
KOF on Wednesday announced it had revised its growth forecast down from 1.6% to 1% for Switzerland’s gross domestic product. However, the latest outlook for 2020 remains virtually unchanged with growth of 2.1%.
“Brexit uncertainty, economic slowdown in China, downturn in the euro area: the Swiss economy is operating in a tough environment,” KOFExternal link said in press release.
Real wages are set to grow by 0.4% in 2019, further depressing consumer spending, according to the institute.
Adjusted for inflation, salary levels in Switzerland have fallen over the past two years.
The KOF outlook is in line with forecasts from other economic experts.
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After some years of steady but low growth, the Swiss economy expanded by 2.5% in 2018 on the back of a positive global situation.
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Switzerland's GDP is on track this year to increase by 2.9%, according to a forecast by Zurich's KOF Swiss Economic Institute published Wednesday.
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