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Swiss UBS consumption indicator: Problem child in retail
The UBS Consumption Indicator stood at 1.50 in March, and the February figure was revised downwards slightly to 1.45. Following strong growth at the beginning of the year (5.5%), domestic tourism fell by 0.8% in February compared with the same month in the previous year. New car registrations, on the other hand, increased by 4.8% compared with the previous year. A sour mood prevails among retailers, according to a survey conducted by the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) at ETH Zurich. The sentiment index traded at –9 in March and was below the long-term average of 4.5 for the 32nd month in succession. It seems that ... (full story)