Swiss Government Optimistic Even as it cuts Growth Forecast

The Swiss government said it was cautiously optimistic for the economic outlook assuming the euro zone debt crisis does not again escalate even as it trimmed its growth forecast for 2013 to 1.3 percent.

“Alongside the dark clouds hanging over the situation, the first signs of light at the end of the tunnel are appearing,” economists at the State Secretariat for Economics (SECO) said.

“These first signs allow for cautious optimism and to anticipate a gradual improvement in Switzerland’s international economic environment over the next two years.”

The SECO stuck to a forecast for 1 percent growth for 2012, but pared its outlook for 2013 to 1.3 percent from the 1.4 percent it predicted in September.

It expects growth to accelerate to 2 percent in 2014 assuming the euro zone debt crisis remains under control and the global economy gradually recovers.

It forecast consumer prices to fall by 0.7 percent this year, up from a prediction of minus 0.5 percent made in September. Prices are seen rising 0.2 percent in 2013 and 2014.

The new government forecasts come ahead of a quarterly monetary policy meeting on Thursday of the central bank, which is expected to reiterate its determination to keep a lid on the safe-haven franc to avert recession and deflation.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza