- After rising sharply in the first two months of the year, inflation in Switzerland fell again in March and April.
- Specifically, annual inflation fell to 2.6 percent in April from 2.9 percent in March, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (BFS).
- Inflation is now the lowest it has been in a year. In April a year ago it was 2.5 percent.
Inflation had already fallen back to the level seen at the end of 2022 in March. In the first two months of the year, it had risen significantly due to higher electricity and flight prices.
Compared to the previous month, the national consumer price index (CPI) remained stable at 106.0 points. Analysts polled by the news agency AWP had expected a slight increase of 0.1 to 0.3 percent.
The BFS explains the price stability compared to the previous month with opposite developments that would have balanced each other out. The prices for flights and package tours as well as for clothing and shoes have fallen. In contrast, the prices for the hotel industry as well as for heating oil and fruit vegetables rose.
Both imported goods (+2.4 percent) and domestic goods (+2.6 percent) cost more than in April 2022. Import goods in particular have therefore not become as expensive as in March. Core inflation, which excludes volatile commodities such as food, energy and fuel, held steady at 2.2 percent in April.
In an international comparison, inflation in Switzerland is much more moderate. Even after numerous interest rate hikes by the FED, the inflation rate in the USA was still 5.0 percent in March. After all, it came back significantly from the 6.0 percent in February.
The inflation rate in the European Union (EU-27) rose by around 8.3 percent in March compared to the same month last year. This is a slight relaxation after the highest inflation rate since the EU was established in October 2022. April dates are yet to come.