KOF Business Tendency Surveys from January 2018: Swiss Companies Are Getting the New Year Off to a Strong Start
The KOF Business Situation Indicator rose further in January, continuing on its upward trajectory after a brief pause last autumn. The companies that took part in the KOF survey are confident regarding business development over the next six months. All in all, Swiss companies are getting off to a strong start in 2018.
Development by economic sector
Most sectors of the Swiss economy have seen positive development in their business situation. The KOF Business Situation Indicator shows a clear increase for wholesale, but financial and insurance services, construction, hotel and catering, other service providers, and manufacturing saw improvement too. By contrast, while project engineering offices continue to report excellent business, it is not as good as it was last month. And retailers are missing out on the overall positive trend, as the Indicator went down for them.
Business situation by region
The business situation differs from region to region. Central Switzerland is seeing a strong move upward, and the Business Situation Indicator shows similar improvement for the Zurich region and Ticino. There was virtually no change in Espace Mittelland or Northwestern Switzerland, while the business climate cooled slightly in Eastern Switzerland and somewhat more markedly in the Lake Geneva region.
KOF Business Tendency Surveys
The results of the latest KOF Business Tendency Surveys from January 2018 include responses from more than 4,500 private companies in industry, construction, and key service sectors, for a response rate of about 53%.