SWISS exports stagnated in October as rising foreign sales by chemical and pharmaceutical companies were offset by falling exports of paper and watches that have been hurt by slumping demand from Asia.

    Overall exports fell by 1.5 percent year on year in real terms and by 4.7 percent on a nominal basis, the Federal Customs Office said late Thursday, coming in at 18.85 billion Swiss francs (US$18.53 billion).

    Analysts think that slumping exports may be further weakened by a strong Swiss franc. They are bracing for an expected European Central Bank rate decision Dec. 3 that could deliver more quantitative easing in the eurozone and exert upward pressure on the franc.

    Taking into account that the month had one fewer working day than October 2014, however, the office said exports actually rose in real terms.

    The trade surplus widened to a record 4.2 billion Swiss francs, as imports fell more than exports. Imports slipped a real 5.3 percent to 14.7 billion francs.

    Nominally, Swiss exports have dropped each quarter of 2015, with the biggest slide in the third quarter, the worst for watch sales abroad since 2009.

    Swiss watch sales have been particularly under pressure in Asia, where weakness in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Singapore has been compounded by a dive in South Korea.

    Watch exports from Switzerland — home to Richemont and Swatch — fell a real 13.2 percent to 2 billion francs in October.

    “Swiss watch exports had their biggest decline in six years in October,” Corinne Gretler reports for Bloomberg.

    “Shipments declined 12 percent to 2 billion Swiss francs,” the Swiss customs office said.

    “2015 has been one to forget for the watchmakers,’ said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich.

    “Competition from Apple Inc.’s smartwatch has also weighed on low-end brands of timepieces,” Gretler reports.

    (SD-Agencies)