ZURICH The Swiss economy grew by a faster than expected rate at the start of the year, the government said on Tuesday, supported by robust domestic demand and rising exports.

Economic output, when adjusted for sporting events, grew by 0.5% in the first three months of 2023 compared with the last quarter of 2022, according to data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which compiled the figures.

The performance was better than the 0.1% growth rate forecast in a Reuters poll and marked an uptick from the flat development at the end of 2022.

The Swiss economy grew by 0.9% compared with the same quarter in 2022. Economists had forecast 0.6% year-on-year growth.

After a long period of decline, manufacturing showed an uptick with 0.3% growth quarter on quarter, although the finance sector - which has been hit by turbulence surrounding the collapse of Credit Suisse - struggled.

Consumer spending increased by 0.6% in the quarter, while exports increased by 4%.

"Buoyed by the continued recovery in travel, value added in the transport and communication sector (+0.7%) and in the accommodation and food services sector (+1.0%) increased at an above-average rate," SECO said.

Although consumption of services did well, consumer spending on goods developed at a more moderate pace, with value added in retail declining by 0.4%.

The Swiss figures compare favourably with neighbouring Germany, which last week reported it had entered a recession in early 2023 after its GDP fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year.

Household spending in Europe's biggest economy fell as higher inflation weighed on household consumption.

(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Friederike Heine)