By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi ZURICH, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Expectations for Swiss economic growth hit a 19-month high in October, according to Credit Suisse and German research institute ZEW, although those polled expected the franc's strength to keep exporters under pressure. Fewer analysts in the sentiment survey viewed the economy as "bad" than in previous months, and more analysts expected it to improve, results showed on Wednesday. Still, most expected deflation to persist and fewer expected the Swiss franc, whose strength has hurt exporters, to weaken. In October, most respondents saw inflation below -1 percent for 2015, lowering their full-year expectations from when last asked in July. "Back in July, 51 percent of the analysts surveyed considered an inflation rate between -1 percent and 0 percent likely for both 2015 and 2016," the institute said. "Now only 46 percent of them anticipate that the franc will depreciate against the U.S. dollar," the institute said. "Expectations of a depreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro have also become a bit less widespread than before." In the first eight months of the year, exports fell 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year and exports to the euro zone fell 8.7 percent. Switzerland's industrial sector, which is especially dependent on trades to Europe, has been particularly hard hit. Nearly half the analysts ZEW and Credit Suisse surveyed expected exports to stay under pressure and 24.3 percent saw further declines in the next six months. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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