Swiss trade surplus increases more than forecast

Switzerland's foreign trade surplus increased more than expected in June, the latest figures from the Federal Customs Administration showed Thursday.

The surplus was CHF 2.73 billion in June, up from CHF 2.2 billion in May. Economists expected a surplus of CHF 2.15 billion. Exports fell 5.5 percent year-on-year in real terms in June to CHF 16.7 billion and imports dropped 6.5 percent to CHF 14 billion.

In the second quarter, exports totaled CHF 51.2 billion, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, exports were down 3 percent.

During the period, Switzerland imported CHF 44.7 billion worth of goods. This was 0.8 percent higher than a year earlier and 0.4 percent higher than in the first quarter. The trade balance showed a surplus of CHF 6.5 billion compared with CHF 5.86 billion in the first quarter.

In the first half of the year, the trade balance showed a record surplus of CHF 12.3 billion, almost unchanged from the second half of 2012. Both exports and imports fell 2.9 percent each in real terms on an annual basis during the six months to June.