According to the report from Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the consumer price index (CPI) remained stable in August 2020 compared with the previous month, reaching 101.2 points (December 2015 = 100). Economists had expected a 0.1% increase. Inflation was –0.9% compared with the same month of the previous year. 

The stability of the index compared with the previous month is the result of opposing trends that counterbalanced each other overall. Prices for clothing and footwear increased, as well as prices for hotel accommodation and mobile communication. In contrast, prices for airfares, international package holidays and housing rentals decreased.

In August 2020, the Swiss Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 100.54 points (base 2015 = 100). This corresponds to a rate of change of -0.1% compared with the previous month and of –1.4% compared with the same month the previous year. Due to the effects of the pandemic, the same missing price imputation techniques used for the CPI were introduced for the HICP.

The HICP is a supplementary indicator for inflation based on a harmonised method across EU member countries. It enables inflation in Switzerland to be compared with that of European countries.