Suisse Balance Commerciale

The trade surplus in Switzerland slightly narrowed to CHF 3.9 billion in September 2024 from a marginally revised CHF 4.0 billion in the previous month, marking the smallest trade surplus since April. Month-on-month, exports fell 1.4% to CHF 21.9 billion, weighed by decreased sales of vehicles (-16.9%), jewelry (-12.9%), and watches (-12.6%). Among trading partners, demand dropped notably from Russia (-41.6%), Brazil (-30.4%), Japan (-26.5%), and South Africa (-24.2%). Meanwhile, imports declined at a softer 1.1% to CHF 18.0 billion, due to lower purchases of chemical and pharmaceutical products (-5.9%), energy products (-2.5%), and paper and graphic products (-0.4%). As for the trading partners, imports fell from Saudi Arabia (-38.5%), Slovenia (-33.1%), the UK (-23.7%), and South Korea (-21%). For the third quarter, the trade surplus narrowed to CHF 11.3 billion from CHF 12.7 billion in the previous period.