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The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector, which is calculated on the basis of KOF Business Tendency Surveys, fell again at the beginning of the year. Weak foreign demand in particular is weighing on the export sector. However, there is a silver lining on the horizon: firms are much more confident about the next six months than they were previously.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector, which is calculated from KOF’s Business Tendency Surveys, fell in October for the second month in a row. Following a modest decline in the previous month, business activity cooled significantly in October. Meanwhile, upward pressure on prices is decreasing and companies’ wage expectations are lower than last autumn.

This year’s round of pay bargaining could be another meagre one in real terms for wage earners. Companies expect to see wages increase by an average of only 2 per cent over the next twelve months. Since they are forecasting inflation of over 2 per cent for the same period, they are not anticipating any real pay increases. This is the result of a KOF survey of almost 9,000 businesses in Switzerland.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss economy, which is calculated from the KOF Business Tendency Surveys, fell significantly in July. Business activity is less buoyant than it has been for two years. In contrast, upward pressure on prices is decreasing in almost all sectors of the economy. The shortage of skilled workers is no longer quite as acute as it was recently.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss economy, which is calculated from the KOF Business Tendency Surveys, fell in April. It had hardly moved in the previous month. Performance varied from sector to sector. Although the Swiss economy is faltering slightly, there are also positive signals. Supply chain problems, for example, have largely dissipated and the upward pressure on prices is decreasing.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector, which is calculated from the KOF Business Tendency Surveys, rose significantly in January. While firms’ business had deteriorated in the autumn, a clearly positive trend was visible in January. The operating outlook for the coming months is more encouraging than before.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for the Swiss private sector, which is calculated from the KOF Business Tendency Surveys, fell significantly in October. Although business remains predominantly encouraging, the last time the Business Situation Indicator was lower than it is at present was in June 2021. The signs of a slowdown in business activity in the manufacturing sector are unmistakable. This is shown by the results of the latest Business Tendency Surveys for October.

The Business Situation Indicator for Swiss companies fell slightly in July. However, it is still higher than it was at the beginning of this year, and the last time the situation was more encouraging than at present was in July 2011. However, firms are much less optimistic than before about their business prospects for the coming six months. The headwinds facing the Swiss economy are likely to strengthen in the near future.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator for firms in Switzerland rose in April, reaching its highest level since recovering from the financial crisis in 2010/2011. As far as developments in the near future are concerned, however, companies are more cautious than they have been in recent months. The positive impact of the Swiss economy’s recovery from the pandemic is outweighing the adverse effects of the war in Ukraine.

The Swiss economy’s recovery is continuing despite the omicron wave at the beginning of the new year. This is demonstrated by the KOF Business Tendency Surveys for January. Although many employees are currently having to quarantine or self-isolate, a specially included KOF question reveals that the loss of sales due to staff absences is limited. The availability of intermediate products, on the other hand, remains a problem.

Swiss companies’ business situation continues to improve, according to the KOF Business Tendency Surveys for October. The gap that had widened between sectors as a result of the pandemic is closing to some extent. In addition to problems with supplies of intermediate products, however, many sectors are complaining about a shortage of skilled workers.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator rose sharply in July. For the first time, Swiss companies’ business activity is now better than it was at the start of 2020. Survey respondents are confident about developments going forward and see fewer uncertainties than they did at the beginning of the year. This optimistic assessment by firms is consistent with KOF’s latest calculations.

The recovery of the Swiss economy is progressing in leaps and bounds. The upward trend in the Business Situation Indicator, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the year, continued at an accelerated pace in April. Firms are also much more confident about developments over the coming months than they were in the previous month and at the beginning of this year. However, the availability of intermediate products is becoming a growing concern for companies.

The KOF Business Situation Indicator fell extraordinarily sharply in April. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies reckon that their business is faring even worse than during the 2009 financial crisis, and they expect this situation to deteriorate further in the coming months. The coronavirus continues to have the economy firmly in its grip.

The business situation of Swiss companies improved slightly in January. In the manufacturing sector the indicator did not fall any further after 13 consecutive declines. Five years after the Swiss franc’s exchange-rate floor was abolished, however, companies in this sector are still complaining about poorer competitiveness in the euro area. These were the findings of a special survey on Swiss monetary policy. Assessments of negative interest rates reveal considerable differences between sectors.

Swiss companies’ business situation did not change in July compared with the previous month. Having fallen seven times in succession, the Business Situation Indicator now remains at the prior month’s level. Although the Swiss economy is no longer on a downward trajectory, the economic environment remains challenging.