[B]Swiss retail spending surged to 6.2% from 0.7% in June as resilient labor demands helped to boost personal spending. The increase was much stronger than the 2.3% rise expected by economists, and has certainly helped to improve the growth outlook for Switzerland. The breakdown of the report showed that discretionary spending for electronics picked up the biggest gain as its rose 14% from last year, while automotive sales increase 4.8%. Meanwhile, producer and import inflation pulled back from a 19 year high as oil prices retreated from a record high in July. The index slipped to 4.0% from 4.9% in July, which crossed the wires lower than the 4.3% increase forecasted by economist. Falling input prices should help to boost operating profits for Swiss firms, which could lead the Swiss National Bank to lower the benchmark interest rate as they remain focused on growth.[/B]