ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss economy grew a real 0.3% in the second quarter versus the first three months thanks to the services sector’s continued recovery from pandemic restrictions and robust consumer spending, data showed on Monday.
That compared to growth of a revised 0.5% in the first quarter, or 0.2% when stripping out the impact of large sporting events, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said.
Gross domestic product expanded 2.8% year on year, or 2.3% adjusted for sporting events.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP to rise 0.4% quarter on quarter and 3.0% year on year.
The Swiss economy has weathered recent turbulence on world markets relatively well.
The government sees no immediate need for measures to help cushion the burden of surging energy prices, it said last week, noting the economy was performing well, unemployment was low, and inflation was set to wane next year.
Swiss consumer price inflation rose a higher-than-expected 3.5% in August, the seventh month in a row that inflation has surpassed the Swiss National Bank’s 0-2% target range.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Paul Carrel)
