Manufacturing activity picked up a little pace at year-end. At 54.1, the SVME PMI was 0.2 points stronger than in November and 0.8 points above the market consensus. This was its first increase since September and only the second rise in the last nine months. Still, the headline index remains far enough above the 50-expansion threshold to suggest that the economy achieved positive growth last quarter.

That said, today's report leaves both the Swiss ECDI (minus 10) and ECDI-P (minus 3) just below zero and so indicative of very modest underperformance by overall economic activity versus market expectations.

The December PMI is seen at 53.3, down from 53.9 in November.

The SVME (Schweizerischer Verband für Materialwirtschaft und Einkauf) Association for Purchasing and Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is produced in conjunction with Credit Suisse. The PMI provides an estimate of manufacturing business activity for the preceding month by using information obtained from a representative sector of purchasing managers. Results are synthesised into a single index which can range between zero and 100. A reading above (below) 50 signals rising (falling) activity versus the previous month and the closer to 100 (zero) the faster is activity growing (contracting).

The PMI is very sensitive to the business cycle and tends to match growth or decline in the economy as a whole. To construct the PMI the Swiss Association of Purchasing and Materials Management conducts monthly surveys of purchasing executives on their performance in the current month versus the previous period. Because the amount of materials ordered by purchasing managers parallels the level of manufacturing production, the PMI is a gauge of production growth. The results are indexed with a centerline of 50; values above 50 indicate expectations of expansion and values below 50 indicate expectations of contraction for the manufacturing sector.