The Swiss manufacturing sector contracted for the fourth straight month but the pace of decline stabilized in April, the Credit Suisse said Monday.
The procure.ch Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 47.9, unchanged from March. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 48.3.
The industrial activity has been contracting since the Swiss National Bank abandoned the currency ceiling. Although the index points towards decreasing industrial activity, an overall economic recession is unlikely.
The backlog of orders declined again with the sub-index falling 1.3 points to 46.7 in April. There has been a sharp reduction in workforce, causing the employment sub-index to fall 1.5 points to 42.1, the lowest since 2009.
Meanwhile, the indicator for production rose 3.1 points to 52.9 in April.
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