Swiss Trade Surplus Grows In Q2

(RTTNews) - Switzerland's foreign trade surplus increased in the second quarter as imports fell faster than exports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed on Thursday.

The trade surplus rose to CHF 9.92 billion in the second quarter from CHF 8.62 billion in the previous quarter.

In real terms, exports declined 1.4 percent sequentially in the June quarter, reversing a 3.6 percent recovery in the March quarter.

Similarly, imports logged a 3.0 percent decrease in the second quarter, in contrast to a 0.5 percent gain in the previous quarter.

In nominal terms, both exports and imports slid by 2.8 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, exports dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent in June versus a 5.3 percent growth in May. The fall in imports was 0.8 percent.

According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, watch exports grew sharply by 14.0 percent year-on-year in June. The first half of this year also showed strong growth of 11.8 percent.