Swiss Franc drifts lower, nearing 0.8100 USD despite solid Swiss Retail Sales

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The Swiss Franc (CHF) is trading lower for the second consecutive day against a strong US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday, showing little impact from the positive surprise in Swiss Real Retail Sales. The USD/CHF pair appreciates 0.14% so far on the day, and approaches intra-week highs in the 0.8100 area.

USD/CHF appreciates further on Wednesday, approaching intra-week highs, in the 0.8100 area.
The Swiss Franc has failed to draw support from the strong Swiss Real Retail Sales seen earlier on the day.
The US Dollar remains bid amid strong US data and hopes of Fed rate hikes in the coming months.

Data released by the Swiss Federal Statistics Office on Wednesday revealed that retail consumption increased 3,5% year-on-year in May, beating expectations of a 0.8% growth, while April’s reading was revised up to a 1.7% rise from the previously estimated 1.6%.

In a few minutes, the Swiss SVME Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is expected to show a moderate slowdown in business activity, with June’s reading easing to 56.5 from 57.3 in May, still showing levels consistent with a healthy expansion.

The US Dollar, on the other hand, remains bid as macroeconomic data keeps fuelling the narrative of US economic exceptionalism, and providing reasons for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in the coming months.

On Tuesday, US JOLTS Job Openings beat expectations with an increase to 7.594 million in May, their highest reading in the last two years, from April’s 7.585 million vacancies. These figures exceed the 7.3 million reading anticipated by the market consensus and confirm that employment creation has picked up pace in 2026 after a difficult 2025.

Economic Indicator

Real Retail Sales (YoY)

The Retail Sales data, released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on a monthly basis, measures the volume of goods sold by retailers in Switzerland. Changes in Retail Sales are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending. Percent changes reflect the rate of changes in such sales, with the YoY reading comparing sales volumes in the reference month with the same month a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Swiss Franc (CHF), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

Economic Indicator

SVME - Purchasing Managers' Index

The SVME Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) released by the Schweizerischer Verband für Materialwirtschaft und Einkauf and Credit Suisse captures business conditions in the manufacturing sector. The Manufacturing PMI is an important indicator of production growth in Switzerland. A result that values above 50 signals appreciates (or is bullish for) the CHF, whereas a result that values below 50 is seen as negative (or bearish).