Switzerland's deep recession unexpectedly eased in the second quarter thanks to an increase in private and public spending, while a drop in imports outstripped the decline in exports.
Gross domestic product fell by a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% compared with the first quarter, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said today.
Economists had expected a drop of 1% after a decline of 0.9% in the first three months of the year. The most optimistic forecast had been for a 0.4% fall.
The country's GDP was 2% lower than a year ago, the SECO said. This was also ahead of the average forecast of a drop of 2.7% and even better than the most optimistic forecast for a fall of 2.3%.
Switzerland's economy slipped into its worst recession in over three decades in mid-2008 as the global economic slump hit its exporters hard. But the country has held up better than many of its peers thanks to its resilient consumers.
Early indicators have been raising hopes of a imminent recovery after main trading partners such as Germany or France moved out of recession in the second quarter.
