FX.co ★ Swiss Factory Activity Contracts Worse than Expected

The Swiss Manufacturing PMI, as reported by procure.ch and Credit Suisse, decreased to 48.8 in July 2025, down from 49.6 in June and falling short of market predictions of 49.9. This registers as the 31st month in succession where the PMI has remained below the neutral mark. The downturn is largely attributed to declines in production, which dipped slightly by 0.1 points to 49.6, along with significant decreases in order backlogs, which fell 6.5 points to 43.9, and purchasing volumes, which decreased by 1.1 points to 43.0. Conversely, certain elements showed improvement, such as purchasing prices, which rose by 3.6 points to 50.7, delivery times, which increased by 2.8 points to 59.2, stocks purchased, which grew by 5.4 points to 45.4, sales stocks, which advanced by 6 points to 48.7, and employment, which rose by 1.2 points to 48.9. Furthermore, a significant portion of manufacturing firms—nearly half—anticipate an uptick in protectionist trade policies within the next year, and around one-third have already encountered an increase in such policies over the past year, as noted by procure.ch and UBS.