Strong start to the year likely to be sustained

In contrast to the euro-zone and UK, the Swiss and Nordic economies grew fairly quickly in Q1. Finland was the top performer, with GDP rising by 1.2% on the quarter. Iceland was hot on its heels, growing by 1.1%. A little further back was Sweden, where the economy expanded by 0.7%, in line with its average in 2017. Switzerland and mainland Norway weren’t a long way behind, while Denmark saw a more modest rise in GDP. Since growth in the euro-zone economy slowed sharply in Q1, the overall strong rates of growth in the Nordics and Switzerland look all the more encouraging.