Swiss exports rebounded sharply in October, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector, customs announced on Tuesday, posting a 10.2% increase on the previous month. Exports from the Alpine country totalled almost 24.4 billion Swiss francs (26 billion euros) in October, while imports rose by 1.8% to 18.4 billion francs, the Federal Customs Office said in a statement. This rebound in exports boosted the trade balance to 5.97 billion Swiss francs (6.38 billion euros) for the past month, compared with 4 billion francs in September.

Exports from the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector, Switzerland’s biggest export earner, rose by 15.6% in October compared with the previous month. Exports of machinery and electronic equipment rebounded by 3.1%, while those of the metals sector rose by 4.8%. In the third quarter, industry held back Switzerland’s growth, as exporting companies suffered from a drop in demand, particularly from Germany, Switzerland’s largest trading partner in Europe. The difficulties of the German automotive industry are having an impact on companies in the Swiss metals sector.

In the third quarter, exports in the metals sector were down 7.9% on the previous quarter, while exports of machinery and electronic equipment contracted by 1.1%. Last week, steelmaker Swiss Steel announced it was cutting 800 jobs in Switzerland and at its sites abroad, with the aim of reducing its workforce to below 7,000 by the end of the first half of 2025. The Lucerne-based group had explained this decision by the need to adapt its production capacities to current economic conditions, in the face of “weak demand in the European manufacturing industry”..