Suisse Balance Commerciale

The trade surplus in Switzerland narrowed to CHF 3.9 billion in August 2024, down from CHF 4.1 billion in the previous month, marking the smallest trade surplus since April. Month-on-month, exports fell by 1.2% to CHF 22.1 billion, driven by decreased sales of metals (-11.1%), chemical-pharmaceutical products (-2.1%), and machines & electronics (-1.2%). In contrast, watch exports surged by 5.9%. Among trading partners, demand dropped significantly from Turkey (-26.9%) and Ireland (-23.9%), while exports to Russia (88.3%) and Belgium (21%) advanced. Meanwhile, imports edged down 0.1% to CHF 18.3 billion, with declines in purchases of watches (-9.6%) and energy products (-10.7%), nearly offset by a rise in chemical-pharmaceutical products (3.8%). As for trading partners, imports fell from the UAE (-38.9%) and Australia (-34.6%), but increased from Ireland (32.9%) and Slovenia (20.8%).