BERNE, SWITZERLAND, 3rd October, 2024 (WAM) -- Swiss inflation weakened to the slowest pace in more than three years, pointing to further monetary easing by the country’s central bank, Bloomberg reported.
Consumer prices rose 0.8 percent from a year ago in September, Switzerland’s statistics office said Thursday. That is much lower than the 1 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and compares with 1.1 percent in August.
Costs for holidays and air travel fell, as did prices for gasoline, heating oil, and diesel, offsetting higher charges for clothing and footwear. The core reading — excluding fresh and seasonal products as well as energy — also retreated and now is at 1 percent.
Like the euro area surrounding it, Switzerland is in a cycle of rate reductions and disinflation. The Swiss National Bank lowered borrowing costs for a third time last week, with the central bank’s new president, Martin Schlegel, saying that more cuts look “likely.”
In a speech on Tuesday, he highlighted that Swiss consumer-price growth currently is driven exclusively by services, while goods costs are dropping. About half of the remaining inflation is due to rents, he said.
The country has one of Europe’s lowest rates of consumer-price growth. Data from the euro area showed inflation there dropped below 2 percent for the first time since 2021 but still came in at 1.8 percent. Based on the European Union’s harmonised measure, the Swiss saw an advance of 0.9 percent in the period.