Swiss Economy To Grow Considerably Below Average: SECO

(RTTNews) - The Swiss economy is set to expand considerably below its average this year and inflation is projected to continue to ease, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said Thursday.

The Federal Government Expert Group on Business Cycles forecast the economy to grow 1.2 percent this year, which was unchanged from the previous outlook. This was below-average growth seen in 2023.

As global economic conditions improve gradually, economic growth is likely to strengthen next year on exports and investments, SECO said. GDP growth is seen at 1.6 percent in 2025 compared to the prior forecast of 1.7 percent.

Challenging global economic conditions, coupled with the fall in the Swiss franc damped export sectors that are sensitive to cyclical and exchange rate fluctuations. However, an exceptionally strong second quarter has led the agency to forecast strong export growth for the year. The SECO downgraded its inflation outlook for 2024 to 1.2 percent from 1.4 percent. Inflation is projected to fall further down to 0.7 percent in 2025 compared to June's forecast of 1.1 percent.

The government said the moderate economic expansion is likely to be accompanied by a rise in unemployment, with average forecasts unchanged at 2.4 percent in 2024 and 2.6 percent in 2025.