Swiss economy is set for a bounce back in 2018 - ING

Swiss economy is set for a bounce back in 2018, with higher activity being fuelled by external demand, according to Julien Manceaux, Senior Economist at ING.

Key Quotes

“GDP growth should rebound from 1.0% to 1.8% in 2018 and 2.0% in 2019. Lower unemployment and higher inflation should support consumer confidence eventually benefiting the retail sector. If this bright outlook after several years of slow growth should bring inflation, the question remains: by how much? Indeed, the whole scenario is very much dependent on the continuing depreciation of the CHF, and hence on the SNB’s monetary policy.”

“We expect it to remain very supportive in 2018. At its December monetary policy meeting, the SNB left the target range for the 3m Libor at -1.25%/-0.25% with a negative deposit rate of -0.75%. The exemption was also left unchanged (at 20 times the minimum reserve requirements).”