The outlook for the Swiss economy has turned gloomier for the first time in six months as the country grapples with weaker prospects for Europe following Britain's vote to quit the European Union, according to a poll published on Wednesday. The Credit Suisse ZEW indicator, which signals expectations for developments over the next six months, fell 8.7 points in August to a balance of -2.8 points, the first negative result since February.
The number of economists who expected a worsening economic situation in August increased from a month earlier, while a lower proportion forecast an improvement. Still, nearly 70 percent of the experts polled expected no change in the economic situation in Switzerland in the future and nearly all of them described the current economic situation as good or normal.
"Most economists think the current economic situation in Switzerland is currently at a normal level, but don't see any impetus for it to improve," said Lukas Gehrig, who compiled the report for Credit Suisse. One possible source for concern would be an escalation of the Italian banking crisis spilling into Switzerland, he said. Major concerns about Britain leaving the European Union had not yet materialised, he said, although some anxiety about how the vote would affect Switzerland by triggering a slowdown in the EU remained.
Most economists expected conditions in the eurozone to worsen, the poll found. What happens in the EU is vital to Switzerland, with the trading bloc the destination for more than half of Swiss exports. The survey comes a day after a ZEW poll in Germany found the mood among analysts and investors improved slightly in August, regaining some ground after a slump last month following the Brexit vote.