In the first quarter of 2025, Switzerland's GDP recorded a quarter-on-quarter rise of 0.5%, up from a revised 0.3% in the previous quarter, though falling short of the preliminary forecast of 0.7%. This growth was bolstered by robust performances in the manufacturing sector, which grew by 2.1% compared to 1.2% previously, and the construction and trade industries, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. The construction sector grew by 1.1% from stagnation, and trade improved to 2.1% from 0.3%. In contrast, the agricultural, forestry, and fishing industries saw negligible growth at 0.1%, while declines were noted in mining and quarrying (-0.2% from -0.5%), as well as in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning, which fell by a significant 9.4% after a previous increase of 1.7%.
Regarding expenditure, there was a notable deceleration in private consumption growth (0.2% compared to 0.5%), government expenditure (0.4% versus 0.6%), and fixed investment (0.5% down from 1.3%). Additionally, net trade had an adverse impact, with imports soaring by 13.1% from 3.4%, whereas exports experienced a more moderate rise of 10.5%, up from 6.2%. On an annual basis, the GDP increased by 2.0%, marking the fastest growth rate since the first quarter of 2022, improving from a 1.6% rise in the fourth quarter.
