Swiss producer, import price drop narrows in November

Swiss producer and import prices continued to fall in November but at a slower pace than the previous month, indicating that deflation pressures might be easing as energy costs rise. The combined import and producer price index for November fell 3.3 percent, the Federal Statistics Office said on Monday. In October, the index had posted a 4.7 year-on-year drop.
Month-on-month, the November index was flat. November import prices rose 0.1 percent from October, boosted by metal and energy, but dropped 4.9 percent versus the previous year. Alessandro Bee, an economist at Sarasin, said the import price index was likely to show an increase in coming months because oil prices are higher now than a year ago.