Consumer confidence in the economic situation has leapt in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) survey.

The quarterly survey index – in which 1,100 households are asked to evaluate the economic situation and their own financial status – reached a level of +14 points in April, compared with -7 points in January.

It showed that in the coming months Swiss consumers are expecting the economy to improve further as well as a much lower increase in unemployment.

By contrast, expectations about their personal financial situation and their potential to make savings were largely unchanged since last quarter.

In sub-indices of the survey which are not used to calculate the overall index, job security clearly improved (-72 as compared with -107 in January) and inflation expectations for the coming 12 months were upgraded (+52 points in April versus +37 in January). But both indices are still clearly below their respective long-term averages.

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