Swiss gross domestic product growth likely accelerated to 0.5% during the second quarter, according to a preliminary estimate published on Thursday, boosted by a solid performance from manufacturers.

The data compares with GDP expansion during the first three months of the year of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, once adjusted to strip out the impact of sporting events.

Industry was the main contributor to the slightly above-average growth in the April-June period, the Federal Statistics Office said. The services sector also grew overall.

"GDP growth was surprisingly strong," said Karsten Junius, an economist at Bank J. Safra Sarasin, noting that indicators had not suggested that manufacturing would be so robust.

Junius is expecting Swiss economic growth of 1.3% this year compared with just 0.7% for the euro zone. The Swiss forecast for 2024 would now likely need to be raised, he said.

Next year, he forecast Swiss growth would slow somewhat. The latest GDP figures did not change Junius's belief that the Swiss National Bank would cut its benchmark interest rate again in September and twice more by the autumn of 2025.

Consumer spending could meet headwinds going forward after the government said this week it planned to hike the value added tax (VAT) rate to fund an increase in pensions for the elderly scheduled to take effect from 2026.

How much VAT should rise is yet to be decided.

Final Swiss figures for the second quarter are due to be published on Sept. 3.

(Reporting by Paul Arnold and Dave Graham Editing by Rachel More and Toby Chopra)