- OECD
Consumer price inflation in Switzerland turned positive on a monthly basis in May, yet the annual measure remained weak, according to the Swiss Federal Statistics Office. Swiss cost of living climbed by 0.2% in the reported month, compared with a negative 0.2% in April, while economists had expected a 0.1% gain. Nevertheless, consumer prices in the Alpine economy dropped 1.2% in May, compared to the same period last year. The Swiss National Bank's decision to abolish the 1.20 cap versus the Euro led to a precipitous drop in the economic growth rate and a rapid deceleration in consumer prices pressures amid a soaring Swiss Franc, which gained more than 15% versus the Euro so far this year. In March, the SNB revised its GDP forecast for 2015 to just under 1% from the 2% estimated in December and lowered inflation projections to -1.1% in 2015, -0.5% in 2016 and +0.4% in 2017. In its latest Economic Outlook the OECD said the Swiss economy has slowed thus far in 2015, but growth is expected to climb gradually into 2016 as the recent large exchange rate appreciation is absorbed.
Meanwhile, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the nation's unemployment rate stagnated, coming in at 3.3% month-on-month in May, compared with 3.3% seen in April and in line with analysts' predictions.
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