Investing.com - Economic sentiment in Switzerland improved unexpectedly in April, turning positive for the first time since October, data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said its indicator of economic sentiment improved by 2.1 points to a reading of 2.1 in April, up from a flat reading in March.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 8.0 points to a reading of minus 8.0 in April.
The indicator reflects the expectations of the surveyed financial market experts regarding the economic development in Switzerland on a six-month time horizon.
A reading above 0.0 on the indicator indicates optimism, while a score below 0.0 indicates pessimism.
Financial market experts’ opinion about the current economic situation in Switzerland improved for the second consecutive month in April. Thus, the indicator reaches a positive level for the first time since October 2011.
Regarding the exchange rate of the Swiss franc versus the euro, 58.7% of experts expect a stable rate.
The share of financial analysts expecting the Swiss franc to depreciate versus the euro in the next six months increased slightly to 32.6% in April.
Following the release of the data, the Swiss franc remained lower against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to trade at 0.9183.
In a report, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said its indicator of economic sentiment improved by 2.1 points to a reading of 2.1 in April, up from a flat reading in March.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 8.0 points to a reading of minus 8.0 in April.
The indicator reflects the expectations of the surveyed financial market experts regarding the economic development in Switzerland on a six-month time horizon.
A reading above 0.0 on the indicator indicates optimism, while a score below 0.0 indicates pessimism.
Financial market experts’ opinion about the current economic situation in Switzerland improved for the second consecutive month in April. Thus, the indicator reaches a positive level for the first time since October 2011.
Regarding the exchange rate of the Swiss franc versus the euro, 58.7% of experts expect a stable rate.
The share of financial analysts expecting the Swiss franc to depreciate versus the euro in the next six months increased slightly to 32.6% in April.
Following the release of the data, the Swiss franc remained lower against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CHF rising 0.33% to trade at 0.9183.