The UBS Consumption Indicator continued to rise in July, increasing to a value of 1.86 from its June level of 1.80.

The UBS Consumption Indicator is calculated from five sub-indicators: new car registrations, business activity in the retail sector, the number of domestic overnight stays in hotels by Swiss citizens, the consumer sentiment index and credit card transactions via UBS at points of sale in Switzerland.

After record growth in the previous month, July was also characterized by a high number of new car registrations (+6.1% year-on-year). Business activity in the retail sector improved considerably, but is still at a relatively low level. The other components of the UBS Consumption Indicator also contributed to its overall rise.

On September 2, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will publish the quarterly estimate of the gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2010. UBS expects very encouraging figures. The growth rate of private consumption may well reach the magnitude of the first quarter (+2.2% year-on-year). The UBS Consumption Indicator is still clearly below this level and should thus continue to rise in the coming months.

UBS Consumption Indicator and private consumption in Switzerland
(Private consumption: year-on-year change, in %, UBS Consumption Indicator: index level)