According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.3% in March 2021 compared with the previous month, reaching 100.6 points (December 2020 = 100). Inflation was –0.2% compared with the same month of the previous year. 

The 0.3% increase compared with the previous month can be explained by several factors including rising prices for clothing and footwear due to the end of the seasonal sales. Heating oil also recorded a price increase, as did fuel. In contrast, prices for fruiting vegetables and pasta decreased.

In March 2021, the Swiss Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 100.53 points (base 2015 = 100). This corresponds to a rate of change of +0.2% compared with the previous month and of –0.2% 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.