GENEVA, Oct 18: Switzerland’s trade surplus reached a record monthly level in September, capping a nine-month boom that drove the surplus through the 10 billion Swiss franc barriers, authorities said on Thursday.

The trade surplus over the first nine months of 2007 grew to 10.49 billion Swiss francs (6.3 billion euros, $8.9 billion) a 20 per cent increase over the same period in 2006, the Federal Customs Office said in a statement.

In September, the trade surplus reached the highest level ever recorded over a month at 1.8 billion Swiss francs, it added.

Swiss exports over the nine month period grew by 12.4 per cent in nominal terms to 146 billion Swiss francs.—AFP