Consumer prices in Switzerland rose 0.8% year-on-year in August 2026, surpassing market expectations of a 0.5% increase and marking the fastest pace of inflation since August 2024. This followed a 0.4% rise in July. The acceleration was driven in part by higher petroleum prices and a weaker Swiss franc, which has made imported goods more expensive.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile components such as energy and unprocessed food, also picked up, rising to 0.4% from 0.3% and posting its first increase of the year. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.1% in August, reversing the 0.1% decline recorded in July.
The rise in prices was broad-based: higher petroleum costs were only partly offset by lower prices for clothing and footwear. The figures were released ahead of the Swiss National Bank’s monetary policy meeting later this month. Despite the recent acceleration, inflation remains within the SNB’s target range of 0–2%.
