Economy Swiss foreign trade little changed in October
Following the strong increase in the previous month, Swiss foreign trade stabilized in both directions in October. Exports to North America were again clearly negative.
20.11.2025, 09:03
SDA
Overall, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.3% in nominal terms to CHF 22.5 billion, as reported by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) on Thursday. In real terms - i.e. at constant prices - the decline was slightly higher at -0.6 percent.
The trend in deliveries to North America was noticeably negative. They fell by 5.1 percent, with the drop to the USA alone being slightly higher at 5.5 percent. The trend here has recently been very volatile. After falling sharply in August with the introduction of the 39% tariff hammer by Donald Trump, they recovered significantly in September (at least seasonally adjusted compared to the previous month).
Exports to Europe, on the other hand, developed positively (+6.9%), although there were differences within the continent: While exports to Germany, for example, increased by a high 12.8%, those to Italy fell by 11.3%. Deliveries to Asia fell by 3.1%.
Slight increase for key sectors
In terms of sectors, exports of chemical-pharmaceutical products, watches, food and beverages, metals as well as machinery and electronics rose slightly. Watch exports, for example, rose by +1.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the first time since July. On an unadjusted basis or compared to the same month of the previous year, however, they continued to decline (-4.4%).
According to the BAZG, exports of jewelry and jewelry goods fell by 13.6% in October after a strong increase in the previous month. Vehicles were hit even harder, with exports falling by almost two-fifths after two months of growth.
However, according to the FOCA, this development is almost exclusively attributable to the aircraft sector, which achieved its highest value in six years in the previous month and its lowest value in two years in October. There were also slight declines in precision instruments and paper and graphic products.
High increase in imports from Germany
Meanwhile, total imports rose slightly by 0.2% (+0.1% in real terms) to just under CHF 19.9 billion in October. In regional terms, imports from Europe increased by 1.4%, while those from North America (-0.3%, USA +0.6%) remained practically stable.
According to the figures, the increase in Europe is mainly due to growing deliveries from Germany (+9.5%) and Austria (+21.6%). In Asia (-2.5%), falling imports from South Korea in particular dampened the result.
The export surplus in the trade balance thus amounted to a good CHF 2.6 billion in the month under review. This is the fourth decline in a row; in July and June, the surplus was still just over CHF 4 billion.
