INSTANT VIEW 3-Swiss Sept. PMI below growth mark for sixth month

ZURICH, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Swiss purchasing managers' index fell to a seasonally adjusted 43.6 points in September from 46.7 points in the previous month, data showed on Monday.

ANALYSTS' VIEWS URSINA KUBLI, SARASIN

"The figure is significantly worse than expected. It is an enormous contrast to the KOF indicators, which is going in the other direction, but we tend to have more trust in the PMI indicator as Switzerland can't stay unscathed by the global economic slowdown.

Consumption data is still robust so there is support from that side but global groth, in particular the euro zone, is really weighing. We think Switzerland will be spared a recession but the risks remain."

JANWILLEM ACKET, JULIUS BAER

"This is a very weak figure, and accentuates the previous figure, which was already disappointing. A technical recession in Switzerland is being confirmed, I'd say we're shaping up for three negative quarters rather than two.

The euro zone recession is going to be more and more felt in Switzerland.

Things are catching up with Switzerland, which was helped earlier by a strong backlog of orders, as the inflow of orders lacks momentum we see production beginning to lag."

BERND HARTMANN, VP BANK

"The purchasing managers' index fell surprisingly strongly to 43.6 points in September. Companies still feel little optimism about the future economic outlook. That is made clear by the strong fall of the component for orders. That Switzerland found itself in a difficult environment was clear but the clear fall in the index is somewhat surprising. The ECB has reduced the risks of a renewed escalation but the economic challenges remain.... The positive signals from the Kof economic barometer are too optimistic, while the latest data on consumer confidence clearly disappoint."

Sub-indices m/m change in pts Production 47.1 0.3 Orderbook 38.5 -7.3 Purchasing volume 36.0 -4.4 Purchasing prices 50.7 2.1 Delivery times 48.2 -4.2 Stocks purchased 43.6 -1.5 Sales stocks 45.8 1.9 Employment 43.6 -1.1

NOTE - The indices are calculated on the basis of a monthly survey of SVME members; a value for the main index above 50 points indicates the manufacturing sector is expanding, a value below 50 signals a contraction.

KEY POINTS FROM THE STATEMENT

* Recent hopes that the two-pronged monetary approach in the US and Europe would result in an early resolution of the debt crisis have not - yet - filtered through to the current PMI survey. "

*"On the contrary, the outlook for Swiss industry continued to worsen in September. The decline in the order backlog accelerated significantly."

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Keywords: MANUFACTURING PMI/SWISS