The morale of the Swiss purchasing directors darkened slightly in July, even though the blow of customs duties imposed by Donald Trump on Swiss products was not yet known.
The PMI index decreased slightly in July, sliding at 48.8 points after 49.6 points, remaining under the growth threshold. The PMI has been below 50 points since January 2023, UBS said on Monday in its monthly study prepared in collaboration with Procure.ch.
The drop in industrial PMI is allocated to the component of order notebooks, while delivery times and levels of raw material stocks supported the indicator. Purchase directors reported longer delivery times for electronic components and semiconductors.
The employment component, at 48.9 points, has reached its highest level since February, indicating an almost stable situation.
About half of industrial companies expect an increase in protectionist measures in the next 12 months, approximately one third observed an increase in these measures during the past year.
The PMI for the service sector decreased from 6.7 points to 41.8 points during the month under review, after already a significant drop in June. This weakness was mainly due to commercial activity, new orders and order books.
The study authors, however, point out that major fluctuations in the indicator are not unusual ‘. However, two consecutive values below the 50 -point mark suggest that the dynamics of the service sector, still robust in the spring, has clearly cooled.
The survey was carried out from July 24 to 28. During this period, the EU concluded an agreement with regard to customs duties with the United States, but no announcement had yet been formulated for Switzerland.
On August 1, Donald Trump announced a 39% surcharge that will strike Swiss goods at the entrance to the United States from August 7. It is one of the highest in the world.
/ATS
