Switzerland's factory sector growth improved in November, defying expectations for further slowdown, while the service sector expansion slowed for a second straight month, survey data from procure.ch and Credit Suisse showed on Monday.
The procure.ch Purchasing Mangers' Index for industry climbed to 57.7 from 57.4 in October. Economists had forecast a score of 56.4 and above it long-term average of 55 points.
A PMI reading above 50 suggests growth in the industrial sector.
The latest improvement evidently marked the end of the downtrend seen in the PMI in the previous two months, the survey report said.
Switzerland's manufacturing PMI is defying the slowing trend in other main European economies such as Germany and France where temporary factors and political uncertainty have hurt sentiment.
This is mainly because the Swiss manufacturing sector is benefiting from the additional measures that were taken after the sudden appreciation of the franc in 2015, the survey said.
Further, momentum in Switzerland slowed in the years of adjustment to the franc's appreciation, which has generated a degree of catch-up potential, the report added.
Meanwhile, the Swiss service sector PMI fell to 53.7 from 55.7 in October. The latest reading was the lowest since October 2016 and was below its historical average.
The trend in the service PMI now seems to be heading downwards or, at best, drifting sideways suggesting that the service sector is clearly also unable to evade the slowdown in growth, the survey report said.
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