Swiss Retail Sales Indicate Slow Economic Growth

Switzerland’s retail sales slipped 1.0% in August amid economists’ expectations of a 0.8% increase from the previous month. The data reinforces sluggish growth for the Swiss economy as sales shed 1%, with nominal sales declining 1.2% in a year. In particular, the report which was provided by the Swiss Statistics Office in Neuchatel illustrated a 10.7% plunge in clothing & shoes. The decline is led by consumers scaling back on spending while other people remain cautious. Looking forward, investors anticipate retail sales will push lower by the end of the year as the SNB expects consumer prices to drop 0.5% this year. In order to stem further downside risk such as additional deprecation against the euro, policymakers will look to intervene in the current markets by selling foreign currencies if this trend persists..