GENEVA, Mar 16 – Switzerland on Tuesday doubled its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.4 percent from the 0.7 percent predicted earlier, saying that the recovery has "stabilised."
"Economic recovery in Switzerland has stabilised" and the short-term outlook for the Alpine nation is "friendlier than a few months ago," said the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in a statement.
However, it warned that the upturn was likely to run out of steam this year.
"In the course of this year, however, the upswing is expected to lose some of its impetus again in the face of not more than moderate global economic impulses and a declining domestic demand," it said.
It also said that exports could be hurt if the Swiss franc was to further appreciate against the euro.
The Swiss central bank has in recent weeks intervened against an appreciation of the franc, it has reiterated on several occasions that it would "act decisively" to prevent the Swiss currency from gaining in value.
The state secretariat\’s growth adjustment comes after the Swiss central bank on Thursday raised its forecast to 1.5 percent from 1.0 percent that it predicted in December.
The Swiss National Bank had also predicted that the recovery was "fragile and is associated with uncertainties."
