Investing.com – Switzerland's UBS consumption improved slightly in September, after falling sharply between June and August, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Swiss bank UBS said its consumption indicator eased up by 0.04 points to 0.84 in September from 0.80 in August, whose figure was revised up from 0.79.
The slight increase was due to the continued high number of new car registrations, which in September was 18.6% above the previous year’s level.
The UBS consumption indicator is calculated from five sub-indicators: new car registrations, retail sales, overnight stays in hotels by Swiss citizens, the consumer sentiment index and credit card transactions.
The report said that, “Swiss consumers are currently in two minds. On the one hand, they are concerned by the debt crisis in Europe and the United States, where there are signs that austerity measures could weaken global economic growth, something which would also hit the export-oriented Swiss economy.”
“On the other hand, the setting of an exchange rate floor by the Swiss National Bank against the euro and the weakening of the franc has most likely dispelled the considerable uncertainty which influenced further economic development,” it added.
Following the release of the data, the Swiss franc was higher against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CHF dipping 0.15% to trade at 0.8794.
In a report, Swiss bank UBS said its consumption indicator eased up by 0.04 points to 0.84 in September from 0.80 in August, whose figure was revised up from 0.79.
The slight increase was due to the continued high number of new car registrations, which in September was 18.6% above the previous year’s level.
The UBS consumption indicator is calculated from five sub-indicators: new car registrations, retail sales, overnight stays in hotels by Swiss citizens, the consumer sentiment index and credit card transactions.
The report said that, “Swiss consumers are currently in two minds. On the one hand, they are concerned by the debt crisis in Europe and the United States, where there are signs that austerity measures could weaken global economic growth, something which would also hit the export-oriented Swiss economy.”
“On the other hand, the setting of an exchange rate floor by the Swiss National Bank against the euro and the weakening of the franc has most likely dispelled the considerable uncertainty which influenced further economic development,” it added.
Following the release of the data, the Swiss franc was higher against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CHF dipping 0.15% to trade at 0.8794.