Neuchâtel, 13.02.2023 – The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.6% in January 2023 compared with the previous month, reaching 105.0 points (December 2020 = 100). Inflation was +3.3% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
The 0.6% increase compared with the previous month is due to several factors including rising prices for electricity and gas. Hotel accommodation also recorded a price increase, as did bread and coffee. In contrast, prices for air transport and petroleum products decreased as well as for clothing and footwear, the latter due to seasonal sales.
Reweighted basket of goods
In order to take into account the changing consumption habits of private households, the basket of goods has been reweighted annually since December 2001. The household budget survey that is carried out every year is used as the basis for the weighting of the basket of goods. The consumer expenditure of 3400 private households drawn at random from the sample frame for personal and household surveys is surveyed in detail and extrapolated to give an average expenditure structure.
In general, the weights of the basket of goods were based on the results of the household budget survey from the penultimate year, which would then have been indexed with the price development until December of the previous year. There were however significant changes to the consumption expenditure of private households due to the corona crisis. Given these circumstances, it is not possible to estimate a consumer structure using the survey results from the penultimate year.
For the sectors in which the survey does not provide enough information, additional industry and market research data is drawn upon as it is every year. This concerns in particular expenditure on energy, tobacco and gambling.
In 2023, CPI weights are again subject to substantial shifts in comparison with the previous year. The weight of the main group restaurants and hotels rose from 5.8 % to 9.3 (+3.5 percentage points), that of the main group recreation and culture rose from 6.8 % to 8.2 % (+1.4 percentage points). The proportion that households spent on transport (+1.1 percentage points) continued to rise. In contrast, the CPI weighting of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell from 12.6 % to 11.0 % (–1.6 percentage points), and that of healthcare from 16.7 % to 15.3 % (–1.4 percentage points). The weight of rents also fell considerably from 19.6 % to 18.6 % (–1.0 percentage point).
Consumer expenditure, which is decisive for the CPI, increased considerably compared with the previous year, particularly for travel and leisure. The increased total expenditure also affects the weight of other items, in which it tends to lead to smaller weights.
Overall, the 2023 CPI weights shows a return to pre-pandemic levels for most items. In comparison with the CPI weights in 2020, greater deviation is seen for package holidays, on which people continue to spend considerably less than before. In contrast, the share of expenditure on the purchase of cars is higher.
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
In January 2023, the Swiss Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 105.00 points (base 2015 = 100). This corresponds to a rate of change of +0.7 % compared with the previous month and of +3.2 % compared with the same month the previous year.
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.
The European Statistical Office, Eurostat, publishes the results according to a predefined calendar. The FSO publishes a comparison between inflation in Switzerland and Europe on the webpage http://www.ipch.bfs.admin.ch. A methodological note and the 2022 weighting of the Swiss standard HICP basket are also available on this page.
Eurostat will publish the HICP indices for other European countries for January 2023 on 23 February 2023. You will find the HICP results on the Eurostat website at the following address: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/hicp