Swiss foreign trade surplus increased in the three months ended September, figures from the Federal Customs Administration showed Tuesday.
The trade surplus rose to CHF 9.420 billion in the third quarter from CHF 9.367 billion in the previous three-month period.
Exports fell by real 5.1 percent in the September quarter, reversing a 0.8 percent gain in the preceding quarter. Imports also dropped 2.5 percent, but slower than the 3.6 percent decrease in the June quarter.
On an annual basis, both exports and imports dipped 3.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively in the third quarter.
In September, the trade surplus of the country came in at CHF 3.0 billion, below economists' expectations for a CHF 3.27 billion surplus. Exports fell 2.9 percent annually in September and imports slipped by 3.8 percent.
Swiss watch exports declined markedly by 7.9 percent in September from a year ago. This negative change has spread to other, hitherto more robust Asian markets, and casts something of a shadow over prospects for the year 2015.