Economy Swiss exports climb to record level in October

The Swiss export industry had a very good October. Exports rose to a new record level, mainly thanks to the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.

In total, exports amounted to CHF 24.39 billion in October, as reported by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) on Tuesday. This represents a seasonally adjusted increase in exports of 10.2 percent compared to the previous month. In real terms - i.e. adjusted for price changes - this resulted in an increase of 11.2 percent. In the previous three months, exports had still tended towards weakness.

According to the BAZG, the turnaround was broad-based. However, chemical and pharmaceutical exports in particular stood out positively, increasing by 15.2%. These now account for almost 60 percent of total Swiss exports.

Machinery industry also on the rise

The mechanical and electrical engineering industry (+3.1%) and the metal industry (+4.8%), both of which had recently had to contend with declines in some areas, also recorded export growth.

Geographically, the trend was mixed. While exports to Europe rose by 16.1% and those to North America by 7.4%, exports to Asia stagnated (+0.3%).

Imports amounted to CHF 18.42 billion in October, which corresponds to a nominal increase of 1.8% (+0.7% in real terms).

The surplus in the trade balance thus amounted to a record CHF 5.97 billion after CHF 4.03 billion in the previous month.

SDA