BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss exports rose slightly in February and imports fell, but the picture is not as rosy as it seems because the improvement is largely due to Leap Year. Exports rose by 1.2 percent for the month, compared to a year earlier, but when adjusted for the additional day in 2012, they fell by 3.9 percent. There was no change at all from January.
The watch industry once again kept the overall picture looking good, with a 20 percent increase in exports compared to a year earlier, while the machining and electronics industry fell by 15 percent.
Trade with the European Union fell in both directions.
Switzerland at the end of February had a trade surplus of CHF2.7 billion.
World leaders have sanctioned the reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which will give emerging economies like Brazil, China and India greater clout, and hailed the Basel III accord that toughens rules on banks’ capital requirements. The G-20 countries, the world’s leading economies, have been meeting in Seoul, South Korea 11 and 12 November.
US concerns to limit trade surpluses to four percent of a country’s GDP were given short thrift in the face of stiff opposition from the world’s two major exporters, China and Germany. Instead, countries committed themselves to a study of “indicative guidelines” concerning trade imbalances. China has come under pressure from industrialized countries who say its currency is under-valued and favours its massive export sector.
The talks were overshadowed by the US Federal Reserve’s announcement a week ago that it would issue $600bn in currency in order to buy US Treasuries, a move widely seen as designed to weaken the US currency, which would cause an influx of speculative capital into emerging countries. The summit’s final declaration says that leaders would heed “market-based exchange rates” and resist the temptations of “competitive devaluation”. It also gives the nod to countries to put in place capital controls to counter capital inflows.
Japan’s trade surplus reached 521 billion yen in September, about 472 percent more than a year ago, but it still disappointed analysts. Exports were down 30.7 percent compared to a year earlier, but in August that figure reached 36 percent, according to figures released by the Japanese Finance Ministry Thursday 22 October.
The Japanese yen has increased in value against all major currencies this year, making Japanese goods more expensive for foreigners.
Imports were down almost 37 percent in the month, with crude oil imports down 2.4 percent over the year, reflecting depressed demand at home. Bloomberg, Romandie News
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss government said Tuesday 23 June in announcing trade figures for May that there is “not a glimmer of hope on the horizon” with both exports and imports down by one-fifth. Seven out of 10 export businesses showed drops of 22 to 39 percent. Imports of energy, raw materials and semi-finished products all fell by one-third, reflecting the decline in orders. The May figures confirm the downward trend for the first four months of the year.
