Inflation in Switzerland accelerated in January by more than analysts had expected, indicating that the threat of deflation is fading quickly.
The consumer price index in January rose 1.0 percent from a year ago, though it was 0.1 percent lower compared with the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.
“The influence of (winter) sales was weakened by rising crude oil prices,” the statistics office said.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile price elements such as tobacco and fuel, ticked up to 0.6 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a yearly headline inflation rate of 0.6 percent.
Switzerland emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2009, and recent indicators have pointed towards further recovery. Last year, consumer prices posted their first full-year decline since 1959.
