The strong, continuous growth phase enjoyed by the Swiss economy for one and a half years was suddenly interrupted. Switzerland is thus following the significant economic downturn seen at the same time in other European countries, particularly Germany.

Both the industrial and service sectors contributed to the negative quarterly result. Value added in manufacturing dipped slightly (−0.6%); however, in the context of the particularly dynamic growth of the past few quarters, this amounts to a normalisation at a high level. In the energy sector too, value added decreased after two extremely positive previous quarters (−2.2%), with the dry summer resulting in production downtime at hydropower plants. In line with the fall in production in these sectors, exports of industrial goods and energy decreased sharply. Total exports of goods** (−4.2%) also contracted substantially. At least, October’s foreign trade figures are already indicating a swift recovery.