The super-franc weighs on Swiss industry, which in January recorded a PMI index of 48,2 points, the lowest level since October 2012. The result is lower than the 53,6 points in December, the 49,2 estimated by analysts for last month and also at the threshold of 50 points, which marks the border between growth and contraction of activity.
“The outlook was clearly conditioned by the abandonment of the minimum exchange rate by the Swiss National Bank – explains Credit Suisse in a note -. The PMI index shows that three quarters of Swiss companies were not prepared for the rapid revaluation of the franc and that only 48% of them expect a weakening of the currency in the next year”.
In the meantime, however, the super-franc is starting to slow down, also following rumors of new interventions by the Central Bank. The currency is in fact trading at 1,0530 against the euro, the lowest level since the central bank intervened on 15 January, after having touched a minimum of 1,057 in the first hours of trading.
The newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag wrote about a new exchange rate ceiling decided informally by the Swiss Central Bank and set at 1,05-1,10.
