Swiss watch industry exports have reported their first monthly fall since April 2017. Their value was 6.9%
lower than in September 2017, at 1.7 billion francs. This variation is explained in part by the fact that there
was one less working day in the period than last year. However, it is too soon to view this as a significant
trend change. After nine months, growth remains strong (+7.5%), in line with forecasts.
The main export markets reported varying performance in the month of September. Hong Kong (-3.5%),
which had experienced no weakness for nearly one and a half year, saw its value diminish by a few points
while remaining on a very sustained trend. The United States (-3.0%) also fell slightly but with no significant
influence on the medium-term trend. China (+17.3%) confirmed the strong upturn observed in August, while
the United Kingdom was 2.0% lower. Still in positive territory, Japan (+2.4%) has nevertheless seen its growth
slacken distinctly in the last four months. Singapore for its part (-49.4%) suffered a very unfavorable base
effect linked to the exceptional sales figures for September 2017.
The total number of pieces exported in September was also significantly lower.
