Switzerland: Retail sales growth picks up pace in May
Retail sales rose 0.2% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +0.1% mom). The pickup was largely driven by a rebound in food, beverages, and tobacco sales. In contrast, household equipment sales weakened.
On an annual basis, retail sales rose 0.4% in May, which was below April’s 2.2% expansion.
Over April and May together, retail sales were fairly flat compared to the average for Q1. This suggests that overall private consumption could have lost some steam in Q2 relative to Q1, as our panelists are currently predicting.