(21.08.2024) The economic situation is stabilizing above average but remained sluggish in July. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute’s barometer at ETH Zurich dropped by 1.7 points to 101.0 (down from 102.7 in June), indicating moderate growth in the months ahead.
This slight decline is primarily due to weak foreign demand and subdued domestic consumption. The report’s authors observed a downturn across most economic sectors, with indicators for hospitality, construction, and manufacturing showing negative trends. Only the financial and insurance sectors saw a slight uptick.
The secondary sector (manufacturing and construction), is struggling with declining order books, reduced capacity utilization, and lower production activity. However, the KOF notes a slight improvement in indicators related to inventories, orders for intermediate goods, and competitive conditions.
The outlook is particularly bleak for sectors like electricity, wood, glass, stone, and machinery. In contrast, there are signs of improvement in metallurgy, the textile and clothing industry, and the paper and printing sector.
The economic barometer remained below its long-term average for most of 2022 and 2023. However, in January 2024, the indicator reached its highest level since February 2022 and has stayed above its long-term average (100), since then.
Last modification 21.08.2024
