Keystone-SDA
This content was published on
June 13, 2024 – 5:00 pm
(Keystone-ATS) Still signs of a slowdown in inflation, at least on the corporate front: in May producer and import prices fell (on an annual basis) by 1.8%, marking the thirteenth consecutive monthly decline.
Compared to April, there was a decline of 0.3%, emerges from data released this morning by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
In detail, as regards the data on producer prices alone – which shows the evolution of indigenous products – there were contractions of 0.5% (monthly) and 1.3% (annual) respectively. Compared to April, pharmaceutical products and petroleum products in particular became cheaper; on the other hand, electricity tariffs for large consumers have increased.
The second sub-index, that of import prices, presents a slightly different evolution: a stable monthly figure (0.0%) is offset by a decrease of 2.9% compared to May 2023. It is among the others had to pay more – again in the monthly comparison – for plastic materials and pharmaceutical preparations; Falling prices were instead observed for crude oil and natural gas.
The producer and import price index is a cyclical indicator that reflects the trend of supply and demand on the goods markets, the FSO explained some time ago. The data is considered an important parameter for understanding the development of consumer prices (i.e. inflation), since production costs are normally transferred to final products. However, it shows significantly more pronounced fluctuations and is much more volatile due to the strong dependence on raw materials.
As will be remembered, in Switzerland inflation stood at 1.4% in May, the same level as April, when inflation began to rise again after several months of decline. Inflation is not destined to disappear: the main authorities, the major institutes and the largest Swiss banks (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, OECD, KOF, Economiesuisse, UBS, International Monetary Fund, etc.) predict that in 2024 the price progression will remain at values between 1.1% and 2.0%; as regards 2025, the first estimates range between 0.7% and 1.4%.
