Swiss Economy Expands Most Since 2021

(RTTNews) - Switzerland's economy expanded at the fastest pace in nearly five years in the second quarter, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO said Thursday.

Gross domestic product logged a quarterly growth of 1.5 percent, the fastest since the third quarter of 2021. The rate matched the preliminary estimate released in August and followed a growth of 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

The government said the chemical and pharmaceutical industry made the largest positive contribution to growth. The industrial sector expanded 3.9 percent, driven by the 4.5 percent growth in manufacturing.

After several quarter of weak activity, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry logged a double-digit growth of 10.5 percent, underpinned by higher exports and sales.

On the expenditure side of GDP, domestic final demand rose 0.5 percent after a weak first quarter. Private consumption grew 0.3 percent driven by spending on health, food and restaurants and accommodation. At the same time, government spending moved up 0.4 percent.

Investment also made positive contribution to growth as construction investment gained 0.7 percent and equipment investment climbed 0.8 percent, driven by higher spending on vehicles and research and development.

Exports of goods surged 5.5 percent and that of services increased 1.6 percent. Reflecting stronger domestic demand, imports advanced 2.2 percent, data showed. Unadjusted GDP growth more than doubled to 1.9 percent in the second quarter from 0.6 percent in the preceding period. The Swiss National Bank had projected the economy to grow around 1 percent this year and about 1.5 percent next year. At the quarterly meeting in June, the SNB had left its policy rate at zero percent. The next monetary policy announcement is due on September 24.

Data released today showed that Swiss consumer price inflation accelerated more-than-expected to 0.8 percent in August, the highest level since September 2024, from 0.4 percent in July.