Business situation cools significantly according to KOF survey
Published: Wednesday, Nov 8th 2023, 09:30
Updated At: Thursday, Nov 9th 2023, 00:54
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The business situation of companies in Switzerland cooled noticeably in October. According to the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, the downturn in the private sector continues. However, expectations give cause for hope.
The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss economy, which is calculated from surveys of around 4,500 companies, has now fallen significantly in October after a rather small decline in September. The negative development in the manufacturing industry in particular is weighing on the economy, the KOF reported on Wednesday.
According to the experts, the hospitality and wholesale sectors also suffered a setback in October. The trend in the other services and retail sectors was only slightly negative. In contrast, the construction industry developed slightly positively, while the project planning sector and financial and insurance service providers showed a clear improvement.
Inflationary pressure decreases - hope for expectations
Meanwhile, the upward trend in prices is slowing and companies' wage expectations are lower than in the fall of last year, according to the KOF. They currently expect wages to rise by an average of 1.9% over the course of the year - in the previous year, they had still expected an increase of 2.5%.
In addition, business expectations show a certain glimmer of hope. After the manufacturing industry was still predominantly skeptical in the summer, confidence is now on the rise. This also applies to financial and insurance services, retail, project planning, construction and other services. By contrast, optimism in the hospitality industry is waning slightly and wholesalers are much more skeptical.
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