Swiss retail sales rose 35.7% yoy in April, in real terms. In nominal terms, sales rose 34.8 yoy. That is the sharpest increase since the start of the time series back in January 2000. SVME PMI rose 0.4 to 69.9 in May, below expectation of 70.0.
GDP dropped -0.5% qoq in Q1. FSO said: “Value added dropped significantly in the service sector following the tightening of measures de-signed to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Private consumption also contracted sharply. By contrast, industry grew markedly and prevented a greater decline in GDP. There was no repeat of the economic slump experienced in spring 2020.”
