ZURICH (AFP) – Switzerland’s exports fell by 11 per cent in November, reversing an October rebound, largely on a slide in demand for pharmaceutical products, Swiss customs authorities announced yesterday.
Exports from the Alpine nation came in at CHF21.7 billion (EUR23.2 billion), below CHF22 billion for the first time since March, the officials said.
Imports, meanwhile, dropped 3.6 per cent on the previous month to CHF17.7 billion, leaving a trade surplus for the period to drop to just under CHF3.96 billion, compared to CHF5.99 billion in October.
Exports from the pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector plummeted by 15.2 per cent over October, fuelled by a sharp fall in demand both for active ingredients and raw materials.
The fall was 8.3 per cent for machinery and electrical and electronic equipment, Switzerland’s second-largest export after pharmaceuticals.
Switzerland’s gross domestic product grew by just 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, following 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, on a decline in industrial exports, notably by machine-tool manufacturers and metals sector firms.
Drops in orders from Germany in particular were pronounced with the strength of the Swiss franc also weighing on exports.
Exports had slipped slightly in the first quarter before recovering strongly in the second, on healthy demand for pharmaceuticals only to turn back into the red in the third quarter.
On Tuesday, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs lowered its gross domestic product forecast for 2024 to 0.9 per cent compared with a previous 1.2 per cent estimate, mainly thanks to lower expectations for exports of merchandise.
However, the government is forecasting a rise of 3.8 per cent for services exports, over 2.3 per cent.
