GENEVA – Swiss real Gross Domestic Product fell by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2015, with gross investments and household consumption preventing a larger GDP decline, said the Swiss Federal Government.

Household consumption expenditure and that of non-profit organisations  increased by 0.5%.

The negative growth in GDP was driven in particular by the trading sector (-1.9%) and accommodation (-3.8%) sectors.

The manufacturing industry (- 0.1%) also failed to provide any further impetus to growth. Furthermore, the sector Transportation/Information/Communication (-0.4%) and the finance sector (-0.6%) experienced a downturn as well.

Only the healthcare sector (+1.6%) and the construction industry (+1.1%) delivered a clearly positive performance.

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