GDP growth set to slow

The Swiss and Nordic economies generally performed well in Q2, but most of the timelier survey indicators point to slower growth to come. Switzerland’s economy expanded very strongly in the first half of the year, boosted by revenues from international sporting events. Sweden also did well, while higher oil prices gave Norway’s economy a lift. But looking ahead, the latest data point to slower growth to come in Switzerland, even before the unwinding boost from sporting revenues. In Sweden, some firms are hitting capacity constraints, which might help to explain the softening of the latest activity indicators. And although firms’ output expectations in Norway are currently very strong, the Norges Bank is on the brink of raising interest rates, while we expect oil prices to fall. So growth there will probably slow too in the coming years.