June

The KOF Economic Barometer remains virtually unchanged in June compared to the previous month. It now stands at 93.6 points, 0.2 points lower than in May (revised from 94.4 to 93.8 points). The downward tendency that has been present since the beginning of the year is now flattening out. The economic outlook for Switzerland remains dampened in the middle of 2019.

KOF expects healthcare spending in Switzerland to rise by 3.7 per cent this year. This is a slightly larger increase than in 2018 (2.8 per cent) and 2017 (2.6 per cent). This stronger growth can partly be attributed to the modest rise in wages and the increase in the number of elderly people. This KOF Forecast has been compiled with the help of research funding provided by the Swiss Pharmacists' Association pharmaSuisse and the Association of Groups of Independent Pharmacies (VGUA).  

The growth rate in the gross value added by the Swiss economy in the first quarter of this year was the highest it had been since the autumn of 2017. KOF now expects gross domestic product (GDP) for 2019 to increase by 1.6 per cent. The currently healthy state of the economy can largely be attributed to manufacturing. However, considerable uncertainty remains.  

The KOF MPC figure for 6 June 2019 is 0.44. The ECB communicated that further monetary accommodation is necessary for a sustained convergence of inflation to the ECB’s aim.

The eurozone economy will experience a slight dip in the second quarter of the year. Growth is expected to fall to 0.3 percent, from 0.4 percent in the first quarter, according to three research institutes: ifo in Munich, KOF in Zurich, and Istat in Rome. They expect growth in each of the third and fourth quarters to return to 0.4 percent.