Switzerland: Retail sales improve for a second straight month in December
In December, calendar-adjusted real retail sales grew 0.6% from the same month a year ago, coming in above the upwardly-revised 0.3% increase logged in November (previously reported: -0.2% year-on-year). December’s improvement was driven largely by the sharpest annual rise in food, beverages and tobacco sales in more than four years. On the other hand, non-food, non-fuel sales in the month contracted modestly from a year earlier.
On a monthly basis, calendar- and seasonally-adjusted real retail sales dropped 0.7% in December, contrasting November’s upwardly revised 1.5% rise (previously reported: +1.3% month-on-month). Meanwhile, the annual average variation in retail sales was essentially flat in December, edging up from minus 0.5% in November.