Swiss economy powers ahead in Q2 on capital investment

The Swiss economy powered ahead in the second quarter as companies' investment spending fuelled growth as exports and consumer spending were steady. Switzerland's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.9 per cent from the previous quarter in real terms, almost matching the 1-per cent growth from the first three months of the year, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected quarterly growth of 0.8 per cent.

The Swiss economy has weathered the crisis better than many of its European neighbours thanks to its resilient consumers and the Swiss National Bank forecasts growth of around 2 per cent for this year. Recent surveys have indicated, however, that the recovery to was set to slow in the coming months as the cooling of the US economy and the strong Swiss franc was taking its toll. The SECO release showed that consumer spending was flat on the quarter and goods exports nudged up only 0.1 per cent. But companies' capital investment grew 2.8 per cent on the quarter and construction spending was 1.3 per cent higher.