ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s economy stagnated in the second quarter of 2023, the government said on Monday, as a slowing global economy weighed on the country’s manufacturing sector and exports.
Switzerland’s gross domestic product (GDP) corrected for sporting events remained unchanged (+0.0%) between April and June, according to the State Secretariat for the Economy, after growth of 0.9% over the first three months of the year.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase of 0.1%.
The manufacturing industry was the main cause of the slowdown, with a 2.9% contraction in production, as the country’s chemical and pharmaceutical industry shrank.
The slowdown in the global economy has also translated into a general decline in goods exports.
Swiss private consumption remained robust in the second quarter, increasing by 0.4%, with more spending on health, food and accommodation.
Compared to the previous year, the Swiss economy grew by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to SECO.
(Report John Revill, French version Corentin Chapron, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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