Last year's rise in inflation can be explained by higher electricity and gas prices, as well as higher rents, Switzerland's Federal Statistical Office said on Monday.
Keystone/gaetan Bally
The annual inflation rate in Switzerland averaged 2.1% last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
This compared to 2.8% in 2022 and 0.6% in 2021. The rise last year can be explained by higher electricity and gas prices, as well as higher rents, FSO said. By contrast, prices fell for petroleum products, telecommunications and medicines.
The consumer price index (CPI) in Switzerland remained stable in December compared with the previous month. Compared with December 2022, the index rose by 1.7%. The latest figures published on Monday are slightly higher than forecasts of the financial sector, which was a rise of between 1.4% and 1.6%.
The stability of last month’s CPI on an annualised basis “is the result of opposing trends which, on the whole, offset each other”, says FSO, citing the rise in prices in the hotel industry and for public air transport, while those for fuel and heating oil fell, as did those for medicines and package holidays.
Underlying inflation, i.e., excluding the effect of fresh and seasonal products, energy and fuels, rose slightly on the previous month (0.2%), but remained below the year-on-year rise in the index (1.5%).
While the price of domestic products rose by 0.3% compared with November, the price of imported products contracted by 0.7%, a trend also observed on an annual basis, with values of 2.3% and -0.2%, respectively.
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