Swiss Retail Sales Growth Exceeds Forecast

(RTTNews) - Swiss retail sales growth accelerated more-than-expected in March, data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed on Thursday.

Retail sales rose 2.2 percent on a yearly basis in March after a 1.2 percent increase in February. Further, this was the ninth successive growth in a row. Economists had expected a 1.9 percent rise.

Sales of food, drinks, and tobacco registered an annual expansion of 2.4 percent versus a 1.2 percent gain in the prior month. Meanwhile, the growth in the non-food sector, without service stations, eased to 0.5 from 0.7 percent in February.

Month-on-month, retail sales rebounded 0.6 percent in March, following a 1.3 percent fall in the previous month.

In nominal terms, retail turnover registered an annual growth of 1.3 percent.