Swiss Nov PMI up at 20-mth high, beats forecasts

* Swiss PMI rises to highest since March 2008

* Swiss Nov PMI rises to 56.9 vs analyst forecast for 54.9

ZURICH, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The recovery of the Swiss manufacturing industry gained momentum in November, a bigger-than-expected rise in the country's PMI showed on Tuesday, adding to evidence of a rebound in the economy.

The purchasing managers' index rose to a seasonally adjusted 56.9 points in November from 54.0 points in the previous month, according to data compiled by the Swiss SVME purchasing managers' association and Credit Suisse.

The better-than-expected PMI data follows gross domestic product data released earlier on Tuesday showing Switzerland pulled out of recession in the third quarter. [ID:nGEE5B00A7]

"The PMI has thus remained above the 50-point growth threshold for four successive months now," SVME said in a statement. "The last time the PMI exceeded its present level was in March 2008, when industry was booming."

Switzerland slipped into the worst recession in more than three decades in mid-2008 as the global crisis choked off demand for its exports, although it has not fared as poorly as some other European countries thanks to resilient consumption.

The SNB forecasts a decline in gross domestic product of 1.5 to 2.0 percent this year, and its Chairman Jean-Pierre Roth said last month 2010 would be another difficult year for the country. [ID:nLI671948] (Reporting by Catherine Bosley) ((Zurich newsroom +41.58.306.7336; fax +41.44.251.0476; zurich.newsroom@reuters.com))