BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Switzerland's economy is likely to face weak growth in the coming months, despite a halt in the downward trend in the leading indicator which hit a four-month high in March, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said on Friday.
The KOF Economic Barometer rose to 97.4 from 93 in February. Economists had forecast a score of 93.8. The latest rise in the index was the first in six months.
The latest reading was the highest since November, when the reading was 98.9. The February reading was revised up from 92.4.
The latest improvement in the leading index is mainly due to positive impulses from the manufacturing industry that is largely driven by the electrical, metal, mechanical engineering and the textile sectors.
In production, which combines manufacturing and construction, the positive trend was mainly due to better assessment of the intermediate products, order backlogs and the overall business situation.
Earlier this week, the KOF slashed the Swiss growth forecast for this year to 1 percent from 1.6 percent seen in December, citing slowdown in the country's key export markets.
GDP Growth was 2.5 percent in 2018.
The growth projection for 2020 was retained at 2.1 percent.
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