* KOF indicator 2.18 in Feb
* Previous months revised up to show 2 rises in row
* KOF institute says reading points to accelerating growth
ZURICH, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The brisk recovery of the Swiss economy is set to pick up speed again after only a modest slowdown despite the record strength of the Swiss franc, the Swiss leading indicator, the KOF, showed on Friday.
The reading ticked up unexpectedly to 2.18 in February from an upwardly revised 2.16 in January, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said. The indicator bottomed in December after declining since July 2010. "The moderate downwards movement observed in the second half of 2010 has been reversed," the KOF said. "This indicates that in the next months the present pace of growth of the Swiss economy should gain a bit of momentum."
The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for the February reading to slip to 2.08 from January's initial figure of 2.10.
The Swiss National Bank expects economic growth to slow to around 1.5 percent this year from an estimated 2.5 percent in 2010 as the strong franc has been taking its toll on the export-oriented economy.
However, SNB policymakers have sounded more sanguine over the franc's impact recently and SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand said the economy made a good start this year.
The central bank is seen holding interest rates steady at ultra-low levels at its quarterly meeting on March 17 because inflation is still very low and a rate increase would boost the franc further. (Reporting by Sven Egenter; editing by Stephen Nisbet)