KOF Economic Barometer falls significantly in October
Published: Wednesday, Oct 30th 2024, 10:20
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The economic recovery in Switzerland is faltering. The economic barometer compiled by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich fell by a whopping 5.0 points to 99.5 points in October.
This is the first time since January that the index has fallen below the 100-point mark, as the KOF reported on Wednesday. It is still close to its medium-term average value. However, the KOF economists note that the Swiss economy is recovering very slowly.
The barometer is therefore also well below analysts' expectations, which had forecast a value between 104 and 106 points. The previous month's value for September was revised downwards by one point.
All individual indicator clusters for the economic sectors fell in the month under review, the report continued. This applied to the manufacturing industry, financial and insurance service providers, other services as well as the hospitality and construction industries.
However, the demand-side indicators, i.e. those for foreign and consumer demand, did not follow the downward trend. However, the KOF explained that the development of these indicators does not currently offer any hope of stronger impetus.
In the manufacturing sector, the indicators for almost all aspects of business activity are under pressure. This applies in particular to export prospects, production activity, the competitive situation and order intake.
Within the manufacturing sector, the outlook was particularly gloomy for chemical and pharmaceutical companies, the metal sector, the wood, glass, stone and earth industry and food and beverage producers, according to the KOF. There were slightly more favorable prospects for textile and clothing companies.
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