Swiss retail sales climbs – Strong rise Irish consumer confidence

02-09-2010 06:26

The Swiss unemployment rate surprisingly dropped and retail sales climbed on the back of the improving economy. Retail sales, corrected for shopping days and inflation, climbed 4.7% in December in the yearly comparison, while it dropped 0.1% in November, according to figures provided by the Federal Statistics Office in Neuchatel. The jobless rate, adjusted for seasonal effects, dropped to 4.1% last month, in comparison to 4.2% in the previous month.

Swiss manufacturing

The growth of Swiss manufacturing gained pace last month, while consumer confidence jumped to the highest level in nearly 24 months, improving the Swiss sentiment towards the economy further, as it found its path out of recession in the third quarter of 2009. Demand for Swiss exports may decline with global stimulus measures running out, which will continue the improving employment.
ING Bank economist Julien Manceaux commented: “We forecast that restrained employment growth will continue to be the weak component of the present economic improvement. However, the Swiss economy should continue to grow gradually this year, as it will probably grow by at least 1.5% in 2010.”

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate without adjustments climbed to 4.5% in January, in comparison to 4.4% in December. The adjusted number of people without a job climbed from 172.740 to 175.765. An adjusted unemployment rate of 4.3% was predicted by economists, according to the median of 10 forecasts.

Consumer sentiment index

Ireland’s KBC/ESRI consumer sentiment index rose from 53.3 in December to 64.6 last month, which is the highest reading since early 2008, according to figures released by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). The index showed a reading of 49.6 in January 2009. July 2008 registered the lowest consumer confidence index ever; 39.6.

KBC Ireland

Austin Hughes of KBC Ireland commented: “January’s recovery in consumer sentiment seems unrealistic, but it would not be wise to only focus on this component of the survey.”
A gauge for consumers’ economic and employment expectations jumped from 40.1 in December to 49 in January. In the meantime, the index for households prospects increased considerably from 73 in December to 87.7 in January.