Business

Thursday June 21, 2012

Swiss investor sentiment at lowest level since Jan


ZURICH: Swiss investor sentiment plunged to its lowest level in five months in June, adding to signs that the ailing economic health of many neighbouring eurozone countries will drag on growth.

The ZEW indicator fell by 39.4 points to 43.4 points in June, the lowest level since January, Credit Suisse, which issues the indicator in cooperation with the German ZEW economic research institute, said yesterday.

“In our view, this change reflects the expectation of a substantial slowdown in growth in the second half of the year, after growth surprised strongly to the upside in the first quarter,” the survey's authors said.

Swiss growth proved surprisingly strong in the first three months of this year, but the Swiss National Bank (SNB) warned at its policy review last Thursday that momentum would slacken significantly in the months ahead.

The eurozone is Switzerland's biggest trading partner and exporters already battling a strong Swiss franc look set to be further handicapped by weak demand in the bloc.

German investor morale sank at its fastest rate since October 1998 on worries about the health of the Spanish banking sector and uncertainty over the Greek election outcome, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Of the 46 analysts surveyed, 78% expect the Swiss franc to remain stable against the euro. This is the highest share since the SNB set its 1.20 cap to the single currency last September, underscoring the credibility of the policy. - Reuters

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