Macroeconomics

The number of cross-border workers commuting to Switzerland for jobs has risen by more than a quarter since 2011, the Swiss statistics office (BFS) said on Thursday.

At the end of 2016, 318,500 cross-border workers were active in Switzerland, an increase of 11,300 over the previous year. Lake Geneva (37.2%), northwest Switzerland (22.8%) and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino (20.2%) remain top destinations for commuters from across the border. In the same five-year period the total number of working people in Switzerland (including residents and non-residents) rose by 7.8%, to 5.1 million.

Switzerland’s trade surplus increased in January as imports declined sharply from the previous month, the Federal Customs Administration reported Tuesday. The trade surplus rose to CHF 4.7 billion in January from CHF 2.7 billion in December.
Month-on-month, exports slid 4% m/m in real terms, after surging to a record level in December (+9.7% m/m). At the same time, imports slid 5.3% versus a 0.6% fall in the previous month.

The amount of cash kept with the Swiss central bank jumped last week, data on Monday showed, suggesting it intervened to weaken a franc currency buoyed by political risks in France and renewed worries about Greece’s public finances.

Since Donald Trump’s surprise U.S. presidential election victory on November 18, the 4.458 billion franc increase in sight deposits was the biggest
Sight deposits – cash that commercial banks hold with the Swiss National Bank, and seen as a guide to its currency market interventions – rose to 543.458 billion Swiss francs ($541.62 billion) from 539 billion francs a week earlier.

Germany reported a new record trade surplus in 2016, official data showed Thursday, exporting €253 billion more than it imported.

Europe’s biggest economy exported goods worth nearly €1.21 trillion ($1.29 trillion) last year, 1.2% more than in 2015, the Federal Statistical Office said. Imports rose to €954.6 billion, a 0.6% increase.
Both exports and imports broke previous records set in 2015. The statistical office said that Germany’s current account surplus climbed to €266 billion from €252.6 billion.

Swiss unemployment rose in January to 3.7%, compared with 3.5% in December. This was stated this morning by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), according to which in late January the amount of unemployed people registered at the regional offices of placement was 164’466 , 5’094 more than in the previous month and 822 more than in January 2016 .

Among young people (15-24 years) the number of unemployed increased by 566 units (+ 2.9%) to reach a total of 19’782, which still corresponds to 1,398 persons less (-6, 6%) compared to 12 months ago. People who are looking for employment were 226’861, 3’448 more compared with December and 4’110 more with January 2016).

The foreign exchange reserves held by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) fell slightly in January, down from 1.6 billion to 643.7 billion, compared with the December figure of 645.3 billion. This is the second consecutive decline, after eight months on the rise.

The set of reserves, excluding gold, increased 651.1 bn to 649.4 bn swiss francs, as the institute said today.

In December, foreign exchange reserves had contracted in a similar manner, to 2.4 billion. Also last February the reserves recorded a decline (-4 billion), while in the other months of 2016 there had been an increase, even double-digit in January (+16 billion), April (+11), May (+14) , August (+11) and November (+18).

Switzerland’s consumer sentiment improved strongly in the three months to January to its highest level in two-and-a-half years, survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index climbed to -3 from -13 in October, marking its highest level since July 2014, the survey conducted among roughly 1,200 consumers revealed. The reading is above its long-term average, after six below-average quarters.

"Consumers are clearly more optimistic about where they feel the economy is going as well as being less gloomy about the future development of unemployment and their own financial situation. This is thus the first time that consumers have rated the outlook in many areas as positively as they did shortly before the Swiss franc shock in early 2015" SECO said.

The Swiss franc’s high value continues to have a negative effect on the confederation’s economy, especially compared to the euro quoted an expert as reporting on Monday.

Andrea Maechler, one of the three members of the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) governing board, told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve that in addition to the currency valuation, other factors including interest rates, changes in prices and the global situation must also be taken into account when assessing the confederation’s economic outlook.
“It’s clear that the strong Swiss franc remains a big challenge for many businesses in Switzerland,” Maechler told in the interview.