Swiss GDP records flat growth in Q3
Xinhua, December 1, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) reported Tuesday that the confederation's real GDP stagnated at 0 percent in the third quarter of 2015 despite being 0.8 percent up compared to the same period last year.
Though private and public consumption as well as the balance of trade in goods contributed positively to GDP, SECO indicated the balance of trade in services had a negative impact.
Both household consumption and non-profit organization expenditure registered a sustained 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter, with healthcare contributing the most to growth.
The slight increase (0.5 percent) in the export of goods was attributed to dynamic exports of chemical and pharmaceutical exports, while the imports of goods remained unchanged compared to the second quarter.
In terms of production, GDP growth was hindered by poor performances in the energy sector (minus 5.3 percent), the construction and financial sectors (both down 1 percent), as well as trading (down 0.9 percent).
On the other hand, GDP was stimulated by growth in healthcare and social work activities, which recorded a 1.1 percent increase, together with insurance services (up 0.6 percent), other services (up 0.4 percent) and manufacturing and public administration (both up 0.3 percent). Endit