ZURICH, April 28 (Reuters) - The UBS consumption index for Switzerland recovered slightly in March, the bank said, showing some resilience of Swiss consumer spending to the economic slump.
The indicator, based on five subcomponents measuring consumer behaviour, rose to 0.99 from 0.89 in February, UBS said in a statement.
"At its current level, the UBS consumption indicator signals that Swiss consumer spending is continuing to increase slightly," the UBS economists said.
"The prospects are, however, becoming increasingly gloomy," the economists cautioned, pointing to the expected rise in unemployment.
So far, consumers have kept spending but a collapse of exports and lower company investment have lead firms to axe jobs, driving up unemployment over the last couple of months.
The UBS economists said Swiss consumption should rise by 0.4 percent this year, as falling inflation was bolstering spending power. Last year, real consumer spending increased by 1.7 percent.
The UBS indicator follows Swiss consumption trends with a lead of about three months over official figures. Private consumption accounts for some 60 percent of Swiss GDP.
The indicator is calculated on the basis of new car sales, business conditions in the retail sector, consumer confidence, the number of overnight hotel stays by Swiss nationals in Switzerland and credit card transactions.
(Reporting by Sven Egenter; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)