*Easter effect pushes up retail sales
*Consumers likely to cut back spending
ZURICH, May 15 (Reuters) - Swiss retail sales rose in March due to a strong seasonal effect from Easter holidays, but the overall trend showed a softening in consumer spending as the export-led recession is hitting the economy hard.
Retail sales were 1.2 percent higher on the year when adjusted for price swings, the Federal Statistics Office said on Friday, well above the median forecast in a Reuters survey of a 2.3 percent fall.
Shoppers had two more days to spend this year, as Easter holidays fell in April and not in March, boosting March 2009 retail sales data. When adjusted for the number of shopping days, March sales dropped 6.6 percent on the year.
"This is a very volatile number and though positive, it does not change the underlying negative trend," Deutsche Bank analyst Henrik Gullberg said. "So the Swiss National Bank is likely to continue to be very keen to prevent a stronger Swiss franc and to maintain an overall expansionary policy."
The SNB, which forecasts a decline in the economy by up to 3 percent in 2009 and only a slow recovery in 2010, has taken drastic steps to boost growth and fight the threat of a harmful deflationary spiral as consumer prices are falling.
Swiss consumers have shown some resilience during the economic crisis, which has hit exporters hard. But consumer morale has taken a severe knock recently as the recession is driving up unemployment.
Sales of shoes and clothing fell 1.5 percent in March, and spending on food and drinks dipped 1.7 percent in real terms.
Sales of electronics rose 16 percent as shops slashed prices and spending on kitchen and household goods rose over 9 percent.
(Reporting by Sven Egenter; editing by David Stamp)