Switzerland Consumer Price Index rises slower than estimates: What the stable inflation growth means for Swiss Franc?

Sagar Dua FXStreet

Switzerland Consumer Price Index (CPI) rises at a steady pace of 0.6% Year-on-Year (YoY) in May, but slower than the estimates of 0.8%. On a monthly basis, inflationary pressures grew moderately by 0.2% vs. estimates and the previous reading of 0.3%.

Month-on-month (MoM) Swiss CPI has cooled down, but has remained steady on an annualized basis. However, there has been no significant reaction by the Swiss Franc (CHF), following the data release. As of writing, the USD/CHF pair trades 0.13% lower at around 0.7910.

What do Swiss CPI data mean for the USD/CHF?

The Swiss inflation data carries a significant impact on market expectations for the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) monetary policy outlook. Signs of price pressures remaining steady are unlikely to influence SNB’s policy expectations.

However, recent remarks from SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel have shown that officials are more concerned about Swiss Franc’s appreciation. On Tuesday, SNB’s Schlegel said that the central bank has “increased its readiness to intervene in forex market”. Schlegel added, “Mid-term inflation pressure has hardly changed in Switzerland.”

Technical Analysis: USD/CHF seems more upside above 0.7930

USD/CHF ticks lower at around 0.7913 as of writing. However, the near-term tone is bullish as it holds below the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) at 0.7860.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) around 58 suggests recovering bullish momentum, but with price still capped beneath this short-term EMA, rallies appear vulnerable unless buyers can sustain a break back above that barrier.

On the topside, the pair could attempt to rise towards April 8 high at 0.7987 if it manages to break above the June 3 high at 0.7927. Looking down, the 20-day EMA will act as major support zone.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)

Economic Indicator

Consumer Price Index (YoY)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on a monthly basis, measures the change in prices of goods and services which are representative of the private households’ consumption in Switzerland. The CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. The YoY reading compares prices in the reference month to the same month a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Swiss Franc (CHF), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

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