Lun, May 13th 2024
Consumer confidence in Switzerland holds steady in April, mirroring past months’ subdued figures. Economic outlook and purchasing timing show minor gains year-over-year, amidst ongoing challenges.
Consumer sentiment in Switzerland remained virtually unchanged in April compared to the previous month and thus at a low level. The monthly consumer sentiment index compiled by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) changed by just one decimal place.
In April, the index stood at -38.1 points, which corresponds to a decline of 0.1 points compared to March and roughly the same level as the previous year, as reported by Seco on Monday. The sub-indices “Expected economic development” and “Timing for major purchases” were above the level of April 2023. The sub-indices “Past financial situation” and “Expected financial situation” were lower than a year ago.
The index reached its lowest point to date last October, when it slipped to just under -53 points. The last time it was clearly higher was at the beginning of 2022.
Since the beginning of 2024, the consumer sentiment index has been based on monthly surveys conducted by Seco instead of the previous quarterly surveys. These are conducted continuously using online questionnaires. According to Seco, a total of 3062 people aged 16 and over took part last month in German, French or Italian.
©Keystone/SDA
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