Swiss purchasing managers’ indices remain gloomy
Keystone-SDA
Generated with artificial intelligence.
The recovery in Swiss industry is a long time coming. The managers responsible for purchasing have lowered their assessments again. By contrast, the services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained in growth territory in November.
The PMI for industry fell by 1.4 points to 48.5 in November (seasonally adjusted). It therefore failed to break through the growth threshold. PMI values above 50 indicate growth and values below that indicate a decline.
This means that the indicator has now remained below the 50-point mark for 23 months, UBS said on Monday. The bank publishes the index together with the purchasing and supply management association Procure.
However, it has stabilised at a level that points to only a slight contraction in the industry. The stabilisation of the Swiss PMI contrasts with the continued weakness of the PMIs in the eurozone. If there is no recovery in the eurozone, the risks for the Swiss PMI are also pointing downwards, according to the economists at UBS.
The production and order backlog components have weakened compared to October, but are still just above the growth threshold, they say. Meanwhile, order books have not grown “noticeably” in the last three months, but at least there has been no further decline in orders since September.
Meanwhile, the PMI for the services sector remained at a seasonally adjusted 51.8 points in November. After volatile summer months, it thus remained above the growth threshold for the second month in a row.
The business activity and orders components in particular had overcome their “summer lows”. However, a rise in the overall index was prevented by a decline in the order backlog component. And the employment component indicates that the situation on the labour market has eased.
Trump and protectionism
The purchasing managers were also asked how they believe the election of Donald Trump as US president will affect them. In 2016, around a quarter of purchasing managers expected an increase in protectionist measures against their export products after Trump’s first election.
This proportion doubled in the second survey in 2024, UBS noted. According to the press release, the companies surveyed expect China in particular to introduce further trade restrictions alongside the US. However, local industrial companies do not foresee an “immediate” realignment of their US business.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Solar energy covers 11% of Switzerland’s electricity needs
This content was published on
Solar power covers eleven percent of the electricity demand in Switzerland. The industry’s turnover for the current year is around CHF 3.7 billion, as shown by the first ever publication of the Swiss Solar Monitor.
Switzerland is concerned about the escalation of hostilities in Syria. It calls on all parties to respect international law and protect the civilian population.
Trial opens into 1995 murder in Geneva of Egyptian diplomat
This content was published on
The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court opened the main hearing in the case of the murder of an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva in 1995 on Monday.
Museum attendance is back on the rise in Switzerland. Nearly 15 million admissions were recorded in 2023, 12% more than the 2015-2019 average prior to the Covid crisis.
The abolition of all tax concessions with a climate impact can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2.5 million tonnes per year, according to a study by the EPFL.
Swiss corruption case involving Trafigura and former executive opens
This content was published on
Trafigura and three other defendants including a former board member go on trial over the alleged payment of bribes to an Angolan oil official for oil deals in a landmark case that opens on Monday.
