Euro 2008 fails to boost sales

0 Comments | Swiss News, Sept, 2008

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Swiss retail sales growth slowed in June despite the Euro 2008 football championship, according to August data.

The Swiss National Bank is now expected to lower interest rates in order to spark growth. Retail sales grew 0.7 per cent year-on-year when adjusted for price swings--down from 7.4 per cent in May, said the Federal Statistics Office.

Analysts expected retail sales to grow by 3.2 per cent on the year. The slowdown comes despite the Euro 2008 football tournament, which drew hundreds of thousands of fans to the country.

Swiss consumers have kept spending high over the last couple of months as employment is at record levels and wages are rising.

But consumer confidence has dropped on concerns about record inflation and a slowing economy. Analysts had hoped that consumption would soften the impact of slowing exports and a banking sector hit by the credit crisis.