Swiss consumer inflation improves in December, in line with market expectations

Consumer inflation in Switzerland improved during the month of December, remaining widely in line with what markets had earlier anticipated.

Swiss consumer prices declined 0.1 percent in December, which was in line with market expectations and followed the 0.2 percent decline in prices seen in November, data released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO) showed Thursday.

Consumer prices were unchanged over the year, which was also in line with expectations and compared with a 0.3 percent decline in the year to November. For 2016 as a whole, there was a decline in prices of 0.4 percent, following a 1.1 percent decline the previous month. There was a decline in domestic prices of 0.1 percent, while import prices declined 1.4 percent.

In addition, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) remains committed to price stability and there was a downgrading of the 2017 inflation forecast to 0.1 percent at 0.2 percent at the December monetary policy review. The SNB is, therefore, expected to remain very sensitive to inflation trends with fourth-quarter price increases lower than expected, reports said.

Meanwhile, USD/CHF traded at 1.02, up 0.04 percent, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Swiss Franc Strength Index remained neutral at -46.90 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex