Thu, Apr 4th 2024
Switzerland witnesses a surprising decrease in inflation to 1.0% in March, defying economists’ expectations and marking a low since September 2021.
Surprisingly, inflation in Switzerland continued to fall in March. Specifically, it fell to 1.0% from 1.2% in February, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday.
This means that Swiss consumer goods were 1.0% more expensive in March than in the same month last year. The last time inflation was lower was in September 2021.
Inflation had already fallen in January and February. Inflation in Switzerland peaked at 3.5% in the summer of 2022. In June 2023, it then fell below the 2% mark for the first time since January 2022.
The renewed decline in March is a surprise. Economists surveyed by AWP had estimated annual inflation of between 1.2 and 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the national consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged at 107.1 points in March compared to the previous month. According to the data, the price stability compared to the previous month was the result of opposing developments that balanced each other out overall.
Prices for package tours abroad and air travel rose, as did those for clothing and shoes.
Prices for the para-hotel industry and cars, on the other hand, have fallen, as has the rental of private transportation, according to the FSO.
At the current level, inflation in Germany remains moderate, even in comparison with other countries. In the eurozone, for example, it stood at 2.4 percent in March.
©Keystone/SDA
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