Swiss retail sales rose 0.9 per cent in June compared with the same month last year when adjusted for inflation, the Federal Statistics Office had reported.

The figures show that entertainment and office electronics posted the biggest rise in sales, at 8.3 per cent, followed by kitchen and household goods (6.8 per cent), and health and beauty (5.4 per cent).

The biggest fall in sales was booked by personal goods, which fell by 9.3 per cent.

"The underlying trend is still clearly negative and combined with a lack of inflation at the consumer level this will ensure the Swiss National Bank will maintain policy at very accommodative levels for some time," analyst Henrik Gullberg at Deutsche Bank told Reuters.

Saara Tuuli at financial analysts 4CAST commented that although retail sales posted a rise in June, spending figures continued to exhibit "considerable weakness" compared with spending figures for last year.

"Though the Swiss labour market remains tight relative to the eurozone, a lack of confidence and in particular concerns over unemployment are likely to see households curb discretionary spending in upcoming quarters, putting downward pressure on GDP figures."

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