MNI BRIEF: Swiss GDP Expected To Rise 3.2% in 2021: SECO

The Swiss economy will likely contract in Q1 before growth picks up from Q2 onwards as the economy reopens, the Federal Government's stats experts said Thursday. For 2021 as a whole, SECO projects the economy to grow by 3.2%, while they see a growth rate of 3.5% for 2022.

These projections are based on the planned easing of restrictions and no further tightening of them.

However, the report noted that the pandemic has left significant uncertainties. Renewed tight restrictions domestically and internationally could weigh on the recovery, while the spread of different mutations of the virus, where current vaccines are less effective, could jeopardize the expected recovery as well. On the other hand, the Covid-situation could improve faster than expected due to the success of vaccination programs.

This will all feed into the SNB's discussions when they mull monetary policy, which MNI discussed this week with a former SNB economist.