‘2018 seems that it may be the year for the SNB to start normalizing policy.’ – Nadia Gharbi, Pictet & Cie
Data released on Thursday revealed that the Swiss KOF leading indicator surged slightly over the month of March, reconfirming the strong February data and suggesting a better-than-expected growth of the country’s economy. The KOF Swiss Economic Institute reported the KOF index added 0.7 points last month and held strongly above its long-term average, jumping to 107.6 from a downwardly revised reading of 106.9 registered in the preceding month. The upmove was mainly driven by the positive trend established in the construction sector coupled with favourable signals from the financial sector and domestic private consumption. In the meantime, indicators for last month’s leading industries, namely, manufacturing and hospitality, posted almost no change over the observed period, while exporting sector sent slightly negative signals. Despite that, the KOF said muted confidence in the manufacturing industry did not manage to hurt the overall sentiment, as the upgraded assessment of the business situation in the country coupled with generally more positive outlook for intermediate goods and inventories weighed. Overall, the KOF report suggested that the Swiss economy should expand at an above-average growth pace in the months to come.
