The troubles of the euro zone economies have spilled over into Switzerland.

Its GDP registered a slight drop in the final three months of last year. It fell 0.1% but the government said there was little chance that Switzerland would again head into a recession. The fall came after five quarters of rising economic growth and made it more likely that Swiss interest rates will stay unchanged for the time being. The factors leading to the quarterly GDP figure were lower capital investment and service exports. In addition private consumption in the country rose by only 0.2%. Despite the subdued growth, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs remains optimistic. It said Switzerland should still benefit fully this year from a global recovery. The government agency is predicting the economy should grow by 1.5% this year, though it added the biggest risk to that was the performance of the euro zone.

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