Switzerland recession

ZURICH:

Switzerland is likely to confirm on Friday that it has fallen into its first recession since 2009, the clearest sign yet of its struggles this year with a strong currency.

A Reuters poll of 12 analysts forecasts the $690 billion Swiss economy shrank 0.1 per cent in the second quarter. Unless first-quarter figures are revised up from minus 0.2 per cent, the decline would mark the first back-to-back contraction in six years, putting Switzerland into a recession.

Economists expect the downturn to be short-lived, with the fallout from the Swiss National Bank’s decision in January to abandon its cap on the franc less severe than first feared.

Source: THT