Inflation in Switzerland falls significantly
Inflation in Switzerland was 2.2 percent in May. Compared to the previous year, domestic goods still cost 2.4 percent more.
Inflation in Switzerland continued to fall significantly in May. It was last this low in February 2022.
Specifically, annual inflation fell in May 2023 to 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent in April, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Monday. In the first two months, it rose to 3.4 percent due to higher electricity and flight prices, since then it has been falling steeply. The decline was as expected. Economists polled by AWP had estimated a value between 2.0 and 2.3 percent.
Domestic goods cost 2.4 percent more in May than a year earlier, and imported goods 1.4 percent. This means that imported goods in particular have not risen as much as in April. Core inflation, which excludes volatile commodities such as food, energy and fuel, fell to 1.9 percent from 2.2 percent.
Compared to the previous month, the national index of consumer prices rose by 0.3 percent to 106.3 points. Analysts surveyed by AWP had estimated a value between 0.0 and +0.4 percent. According to the BFS, the increase was due, among other things, to higher prices for apartment rentals and package tours abroad.
Inflation in the Eurozone
In the eurozone, inflation fell more than expected in May. The annual rate fell from 7.0 percent in the previous month to 6.1 percent, as the statistics office Eurostat in Luxembourg announced at the beginning of June after an initial estimate.
Economists had expected a rate of 6.3 percent. In April, the rate had risen slightly. Last year, inflation was at times in the double digits as a result of the Ukraine war. The price level stagnated compared to the previous month. Core inflation also fell. It fell to 5.3 percent from 5.6 percent in the previous month.
Slightly less price pressure came from food and beverages in May, although the increase of 12.5 percent is still high. Industrially manufactured goods and services also did not rise as much as in April. Energy prices even fell by 1.7 percent compared to the same month last year.
The European Central Bank’s medium-term inflation target of two percent is still being exceeded. The central bank has been fighting inflation with higher interest rates since last summer. A further increase is also expected at the next meeting.
SDA/ij
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