Swiss exports started to rise again in April, after several months of weakness. They jumped by a little more than 9%, to 23.4 billion francs. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) remained sluggish in the first quarter.
The acceleration of Swiss exports comes as the first quarter ended with a drop of 0.8%indicated the Federal Customs Office on Thursday. Sales of chemical and pharmaceutical products, the main contributors, soared by almost 15% in April. An increase was also observed in the machinery and electronics branches (+2.7%), as well as in jewelry and jewelry (+33%).
Watch sales abroad have also picked up. They exceeded their April 2023 level by 4.5%, to 2.1 billion francs, although the cumulative result since the start of the year shows a decline of 2.6%, according to a press release from the Federation. of the Swiss watch industry.
Furthermore, Switzerland continued to record below-average growth in the first quarter. GDP increased by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, continuing the growth recorded in the last quarter of 2023, SECO reported on Thursday. Over one year, Swiss GDP increased by 0.4%.
- Exports are picking up color in April – ATS
- Watch exports start to rise again in April – ATS
- Sluggish GDP growth in the first quarter – ATS
- How is the Swiss economy doing: the first quarter check-up – swissinfo.ch
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