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Exports rose by an inflation-adjusted 2.2
percent year-on-year in September to 17.523 billion Swiss francs
($18.62 billion). On a nominal basis, the increase was 4.4
percent.
Double-digit nominal growth in North America and Latin America
contributed to the rise, with flat sales to the European Union,
which buys almost 60 percent of Swiss exports, continuing to be
a drag on exports.
Sales to euro zone countries, which account for 45.5 percent of
the total, dipped by 0.2 percent in nominal terms. This was
despite a cap on the value of the Swiss franc against the euro
put in place by the Swiss central bank that has helped protect
exports from the strong Swiss francs.
The Swiss economy unexpectedly stalled in the second quarter on
2014, according to data released on Sept. 2, as trade took a hit
from stagnation in Europe.
Tuesday's export figures were helped by a 3.1 percent
inflation-adjusted rise in watch sales. Sales of precision
tools, such as medical instruments, rose 8 percent, while metal
sales posted year-on-year growth of 5.4 percent.
However, exports of jewelry items plummeted 24.6 percent. Sales
of pharmaceuticals and chemicals, the country's largest export
category, also fell 0.5 percent.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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