KOF Economic Barometer: Bright spots for the Swiss economy

The KOF Economic Barometer rises by 3.5 points to a slightly above-average level of 101.5 points in January (from a revised 98.0 points in December). At the beginning of the year, the prospects for the accommodation industry and the other services sector in particular improved. The indicator bundles for manufacturing, construction and foreign demand also develop slightly positive. The outlook for consumer demand is virtually unchanged. Only the outlook for financial and insurance activities has worsened.

In the producing sector (manufacturing and construction), the slight improvement masks mixed tendencies. For example, the indicators for stocks of intermediate products, order books and production activity are moving upwards. On the other hand, it is mainly the indicators of the general business situation and capacity utilisation that are declining.

Within manufacturing, the development is also mixed. For example, the outlook for paper and printing and for food and beverages is more favourable than previously, while in particular it is clouding over for the metal industry and the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.