2017.03.2406:47:00UTC+00Swiss Q4 Current Account Surplus Grows

Swiss current account surplus increased in the fourth quarter from a year ago, figures from the Swiss National Bank showed Friday.

The current account surplus climbed to CHF 22.0 billion in the three months to December from CHF 16.9 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the third quarter, the surplus was CHF 20.6 billion.

The surplus on goods trade grew to CHF 15.7 billion in the fourth quarter from CHF 13.2 billion last year. Similarly, the services trade surplus rose from CHF 4.1 billion from CHF 4.5 billion.

At the same time, the primary income surplus shrank to CHF 2.8 billion from CHF 3.5 billion. On the other side, the secondary income deficit narrowed to CHF 1.2 billion from CHF 4.0 billion.

The capital account balance showed shortfall of CHF 39 million in the December quarter versus a deficit of CHF 92 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, the financial account surplus increased to CHF 18.5 billion from CHF 10.3 billion.

In 2016, the current account surplus amounted to CHF 70 billion, which was CHF 5 billion less than in 2015. The decline was largely attributable to primary income, where the receipts surplus was down by CHF 10 billion to CHF 8 billion, the bank said.