Preview: Swiss GDP Growth Seen Higher In Q1

(RTTNews) - Q1 GDP

Q-o-Q Consensus 0.4% Previous 0.2% Y-o-Y Consensus 1% Previous 1.4%

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, is set to release the gross domestic product growth figures for the first quarter of this year on Tuesday.

The release is scheduled at 01.45 am ET.

Quarterly growth is forecast to double to 0.4 percent in the first quarter from 0.2 percent in the final three months of 2018. In the third quarter last year, the economy shrunk 0.3 percent.

However, economists have predicted a slowing in the annual growth pace, to 1 percent from 1.4 percent in the final quarter of last year.

In the first quarter, a stagnation in domestic demand was offset by robust manufacturing and exports. The Swiss National Bank has forecast growth of around 1.5 percent this year after a 2.5 percent expansion last year.

In March, the SECO slashed the growth forecast for this year further, citing weaker demand for the country's exports due to the slowdown in the global economy and trade.

The GDP growth forecast for this year was trimmed to 1.1 percent from 1.5 percent predicted in December. The growth forecast for next year was left unchanged at 1.7 percent, as the global economy is expected to gain moderate momentum, boosting trade and thus, the Swiss economy.

Same month, the think tank KOF slashed the Swiss growth forecast for this year to 1 percent from 1.6 percent seen in December, citing slowdown in the country's key export markets. The growth projection for 2020 was retained at 2.1 percent.