Switzerland’s retail sales rise below forecast in May

Retail sales in Switzerland were reported to have risen 0.4% year-on-year in May. That followed a revised down 2.2% surge in April, data by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office showed.

The latest figure came in well below market consensus of a 2.5% rise.

Sales of food products shrank 1.6% YoY in May, after a 1.2% YoY increase in April.

At the same time, sales of non-food products moderated (1.4% YoY in May versus 3.5% YoY in April).

In month-over-month terms, Switzerland’s retail sales went up 0.2% in May, following a revised down 0.1% growth in the preceding month.

The Swiss Franc was little changed on the day against the Euro, with the EUR/CHF currency pair last trading at 0.9577 ahead of preliminary GDP data out of Euro Area’s major economies due on Tuesday.