Swiss watch exports grew 3.7% as compared to September 2016. This is the fifth consecutive month that exports rose in year-to-year comparisons basis.The trend over a twelve months period therefore shows a continuing recovery with positive variationsexpected again in the near future.
Among the main categories in value terms,watches in precious metal and steel continued to advance, while bimetal timepieces which have been declining significantly for some months now posted a sharp downturn. Volumes were strongly
lower, pulled down by watches made of steel andthose in the Other materials category.
Hong Kong benefited from a very favourable base effect to achieve sustained growth (+13.7%), further boosting its recovery. The downward trend continued in the United States although the decline was limited last month. The value of watch exports to Singapore practically doubled (+89.6%) because of the delivery of highly priced watches. In the United Kingdom growth weakened with a result that remained almost stable in September (+0.7%). The pace of growth also slackened in China (+1.2%), although a distinctly positive trend was maintained.
