Producer and import prices fall for the tenth month in a row
Published: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 10:00
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Price pressure for companies in Switzerland decreased again in February. This is the tenth month in a row in which annual inflation based on producer and import prices was negative.
Compared to February 2022, the price level fell by 2.0%, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday. Compared to the previous month, however, the overall producer and import price index (PPI) rose by 0.1% to 106.8 points in February.
Once again, there were certain differences between producer and import prices. While the former fell only slightly by 0.3% in February compared to the previous month, the decline in the import price index was more pronounced at minus 5.4% to 107.6 points.
Higher prices for crude oil and natural gas as well as petroleum products caused both the producer price index and the import price index to rise compared to January. However, pharmaceutical specialties, electricity (for large consumers) as well as meat and meat products also drove up producer prices. By contrast, prices for plastic products, paper and paper products fell.
On the import side, rising prices were observed for green coffee, while chemical products, rubber and plastic products, glass and glass products, paper and paper products, wood products, metals and semi-finished metal products became cheaper.
The PPI is regarded as a leading indicator for the development of consumer prices, as the costs of production are normally passed on to consumer prices. However, it has significantly higher swings and is much more volatile due to the high dependence on commodities.
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