Tag Archives: Swiss Macro

The KOF Economic Barometer dropped slightly in January 2017. Compared to its December 2016 value it is now standing at 101.7 points. The standing at a level slightly above the long-term average indicates stable perspectives for the Swiss economy in the near future. In January 2017, the Economic Barometer reached a score of 101.7 points. This relates to a slight downward revision by 0.4 points compared to its...

We do not like Purchasing Power or Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) as measurement for currencies. For us, the trade balance decides if a currency is overvalued. Only the trade balance can express productivity increases, while REER assumes constant productivity in comparison to trade partners.On the other side, a rising trade surplus may also be caused by a higher savings rate while the trade partners decided to...

The Swiss consumption indicator by UBS shows improvements. The indicator is still distant from the highs in 2012. At the time stronger growth in Emerging Markets and the weaker franc helped the Swiss economy. The UBS consumption indicator rose from 1.45 to 1.50 points in December. The positive trend of last fall continued and signalizes solid growth prospects for private consumption this year. New car registrations...

Zurich, 19 January 2017 – Switzerland’s major cities saw net prime yields for multi-family homes drop to 2.6% in 2016 from an average of 2.8%. This is equivalent to a 6% increase in net present value. These low yields are creating additional incentives for investors to seek out higher returns in less central locations. Yet the number of vacant rental apartments – which has already doubled since 2009 – is likely to...

Zurich, 19 January 2017 – Switzerland’s major cities saw net prime yields for multi-family homes drop to 2.6% in 2016 from an average of 2.8%. This is equivalent to a 6% increase in net present value. These low yields are creating additional incentives for investors to seek out higher returns in less central locations. Yet the number of vacant rental apartments – which has already doubled since 2009 – is likely to...

The Producer Price Index (PPI) or officially named "Producer and Import Price Index" describes the changes in prices for producers and importers. For us it is interesting because it is used in the formula for the Real Effective Exchange Rate. When producers and importers profit on lower price changes when compared to other countries, then the Swiss Franc reduces its overvaluation. The Swiss PPI values of -6% in 2015...

Neuchâtel, 16.01.2017 (FSO) – The Swiss hotel industry registered 1.9 million overnight stays in November 2016, which corresponds to a slight growth of 0.5% (+9300 overnight stays) compared with the same period a year earlier. Domestic visitors generated 878,000 overnight stays, representing an increase of 0.9% (+7900). Foreign visitors generated 999,000 overnight stays, i.e. a very slight increase of 0.1% (+1400)....

Unemployment Rate (not seasonally adjusted) According to the SECO surveys, 159,372 unemployed were registered at the Regional Employment Centers (RAV) at the end of December 2016, 10,144 more than in the previous month. The unemployment rate thus rose from 3.3% in November 2016 to 3.5% in the reporting month. Switzerland Unemployment Rate Not Seasonally Adjusted December 2016(see more posts on Switzerland...

The Used Goods Question Retail sales in several countries like Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland continue to fall. In the United States they have strongly risen recently. We should remind readers, that used goods sold via Ebay or similar, are not contained in this statistics. Still they create economic value for the purchases. By mentality, Swiss, Germans or Japanese pay more attention so that used goods do not...

Energy prices in Switzerland turned around from a minus 2.4% in November to a +6.8% in December. Oil prices had seen its trough exactly one year ago. Especially in Germany and Spain, this translated into inflation rates, that are close to the ECB target rate of 2%. Switzerland still saw downwards pressures caused by cheaper imports. Despite rising energy costs, total prices of imported goods are down 0.6%. Consumers...