Switzerland’s retail sales rise the most since February 2022

Retail sales in Switzerland were reported to have risen at the sharpest annual rate since February 2022 in April.

Retail sales went up 2.7% year-on-year in April, while rebounding from a 0.2% drop in March, the data showed.

The latest figure far exceeded market consensus of a 0.2% rise.

In April, sales of non-food products recovered (up 1.7% YoY after a 1.6% YoY drop in March), while sales of food products rose at a faster rate (4% YoY compared to 1% YoY in March).

In month-over-month terms, Switzerland’s retail sales went up 0.2% in April, following a revised down 0.3% decrease in the preceding month.

The EUR/CHF currency pair settled 0.03% lower at 0.9781 on Friday. For the week, the minor currency pair retreated 1.40%, as it snapped a three-week streak of gains. It has also been the pair’s worst weekly performance since late-December 2023.