Consumer sentiment was unchanged in April. At minus 30, SECO's climate indicator matched its January reading and so failed to secure what was expected to be first back-to-back gain since the second and third quarters of 2021. As it is, the latest reading was on the soft side of the market consensus and still some 24 points short of its long-run average.

The stability of the headline measure masked a limited deterioration in both the economic outlook (minus 18 after minus 16) and past financial situation (minus 41 after minus 39) offset by small gains in the expected financial situation (minus 24 after minus 25) and buying intentions (minus 36 after minus 40). Apart from the economic outlook, all component measures were well short of their historic norms.

Today's somewhat disappointing results are in keeping with the recent run of surprisingly poor Swiss data and reflected in lowly ECDI and ECDI-P readings of minus 39 and minus 35 respectively. On current trends, the first half of the year is likely to see only sluggish economic growth at best and, unless inflation misbehaves badly, should limit any SNB tightening in June to just 25 basis points.

Confidence is seen improving from minus 30 to minus 24.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) compiles a quarterly survey of consumer attitudes on present and expected economic and financial conditions. The survey covers around 1,200 Swiss households and results are synthesised into a single summary consumer climate index that attempts to measure consumer sentiment.

The pattern in consumer attitudes and spending is often a major influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth. Consumer spending accounts for a major portion of the Swiss economy, so investors want to know what consumers are up to and how they might behave in the near future. The more confident consumers are about the economy and their own personal finances, the more likely they are to spend. An increasing important element of the survey is the question concerning current buying intentions.