Swiss consumer confidence remained unchanged in April despite the weakness in the assessment of past economic trends, survey data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed Thursday.
The consumer climate index held steady at -6, while it was expected to fall to -11.
The index measuring expectations concerning future economic prospects came in at -8 in April versus -12 in January. Meanwhile, the expected unemployment trends sub-index fell slightly to 51 in April from 52 in January.
At the same time, the assessments concerning future household budget trends rose to 5 from 2 points in January. Finally, the possibility of savings over the next twelve months dropped as the index slid to 31 from 38 in the prior quarter.
The indicator measuring assessment of previous economic trends declined sharply to -22 from +1 in January. By contrast, the current period was assessed as being more favorable for making major purchases, with the index rising to 15 from 7.
Assessments of the price trends over the last twelve months declined to -3 from +32. This was the second lowest value ever recorded since 1973.
Expectations for future price trends also fell significantly. The corresponding index came in at +6 versus +29 in January, which was also the second lowest value ever recorded.
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