Economic forecast: strong recovery following the easing of coronavirus measures admin.ch - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from admin.ch Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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ZURICH, April 22 (Reuters) - Swiss consumers are set to boost the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery, economists say, by using the mountains of cash saved during the crisis to fuel a spending spree.
Wealthy Switzerland’s savings rate - the average amount of disposable income not spent - rose nearly 50% last year, to 19.9% from 13.8%, as restrictions to curb the pandemic cut consumption, according to the KOF Economic Institute.
Households saved 89 billion Swiss francs ($97.27 billion), a jump from 60 billion francs put aside in 2019.
“During the COVID crisis last year there were simply less opportunities to spend money,” said KOF economist Michael Graff.
Forecast: rapid recovery following the gradual easing of coronavirus measures admin.ch - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from admin.ch Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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ZURICH The Swiss economy is expected to shrink in the first quarter of 2021, before rebounding later, after posting its weakest annual performance in more than 40 years during pandemic-ridden 2020, the government said on Friday.
Swiss GDP shrank by 2.9% last year, its worst result since a 6.7% drop in 1975 in the aftermath of oil price shocks, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.
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The economy posted a 0.3% rise in output during the fourth quarter, slowing from a 7.6% improvement in the previous three months, as the government introduced new restrictions to combat a rise in coronavirus cases.