Swiss Trade Surplus Shrinks In Q1

(RTTNews) - Switzerland's foreign trade surplus decreased in the first quarter as exports fell amid an increase in imports, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed on Thursday.

The trade balance registered a surplus of CHF 13.7 billion, which was below the CHF 14.4 billion logged in the final quarter of 2024. In the same period last year, the surplus was CHF 9.7 billion.

In real terms, exports declined 5.7 percent, reversing a 7.2 percent increase a quarter ago. At the same time, imports rebounded 3.1 percent versus a 0.2 percent drop seen in the previous three-month period.

In March, the trade surplus rose to CHF 5.3 billion from CHF 4.3 billion in February, data showed. In nominal terms, both exports and imports climbed by 12.6 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, from a month earlier.

Another report from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry showed that watch exports increased 1.5 percent annually in March. Nonetheless, the trend for the first quarter as a whole was slightly negative, with a decline of 1.1 percent.