Economy KOF Barometer rises slightly in June

The economic outlook for Switzerland brightened slightly again last month. The economic outlook is slightly more favorable, according to the latest KOF Economic Barometer.

Specifically, the KOF Barometer improved by 0.5 points to 102.7 points in June, as reported by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich on Friday. The previous month's value for May was clearly revised upwards to 102.2 from 100.3.

The barometer thus remains slightly above average, as it has been since the beginning of the year. The signs are good that the Swiss economy will continue to recover gradually over the coming months.

The current value is also above the estimates. Experts surveyed by the news agency AWP had forecast it to be between 100.5 and 102.0 points.

According to the press release, a more favorable outlook for foreign business was the main reason for the increase. The hospitality industry, for example, is likely to benefit more from this. The indicator bundles for the manufacturing industry, the construction industry and private consumer demand remained virtually unchanged in June.

In contrast, the outlook for the financial and insurance services sector and other services is slightly gloomier.

Light and shade

In the manufacturing sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, the sub-indicators for the order situation, production activity and employment showed a positive trend. However, indicators such as intermediate products and the general business situation neutralized this trend with their downturns.

Within the manufacturing sector, the situation brightened for food and beverage manufacturers, mechanical engineering and paper and printing products. Here, too, the rather less favorable outlook in the textile and clothing industry and in the wood, glass, stone and earth sector led to a neutral result overall.

The KOF Economic Barometer is a leading indicator for the development of the Swiss economy, which is made up of a large number of individual indicators. These are combined into an overall indicator using statistically determined weightings.