- Christian Lips, an economist at Norddeutsche Landesbank
The Swiss Franc weakened versus its main counterparts as data showed Swiss inflation cooled more than expected in November. The Swiss Franc dropped to 0.9816 against the US Dollar for the first time since May 2013. Against the common currency, the Swiss Franc slid to the lowest level in four days of 1.2029 from last trading week's closing quote of 1.2021. Consumer price inflation in Switzerland remained flat for the second month in a row in November, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office said. Measured on an annual basis, Swiss consumer prices declined at a rate of 0.1% in November, after being flat in October. Economists, however, had forecasted prices to remain flat again in November. The Swiss National Bank projects 0.1% inflation for 2014. For the next year, the central bank expects inflation to slightly rise to 0.2%. Another report showed Swiss retail sales increased less than expected in October, clouding optimism over the economy's health. Retail sales remained unchanged in real terms in October from the preceding month, when sales declined 0.8%. Excluding fuel, retail sales dropped 0.3% versus a 0.8% decrease in the prior month. On a yearly basis, retail sales grew 0.3% in October, albeit slower than the 0.5% rise seen in September. Last week's data showed Swiss economy grew 0.6% in the third quarter, outpacing neighbouring Germany thanks to consumption by households and public sector.
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