ZURICH, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Switzerland may face a deeper recession than forecast at the end of last year because of the worsening of the global economic environment, the Swiss government's chief economist was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"The picture for Switzerland fits largely our December forecast," Aymo Brunetti, chief economist of the Secretariat for Economic Affairs, told the Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft in an interview.
"I am concerned about the global environment, which has deriorated more than expected only a short while ago. The risk, that the recession will be deeper than thought, has increased."
The government forecasts a decline in Swiss gross domestic product by 0.8 percent in 2009 after growth of roughly 2 percent in 2008.
The Swiss National Bank forecasts a GDP decline of between 0.5 and 1.0 percent for the export-dependent Alpine country. (Reporting by Sven Egenter; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)