Swiss inflation remains at minus one per cent

Swiss consumer prices dropped by minus one per cent on a 12-month basis in June as inflation remained unchanged at a 50-year low point, official statistics show.

The consumer price index rose by 0.2 per cent compared to the previous month largely due to the renewed surge in oil prices, the Federal Statistics Office said in a statement.

The annualised inflation rate had dropped to minus one percent in May, after falling from a 3.1 per cent peak in July of last year. The beginning of summer sales brought down clothing prices by 4.4 per cent, tempering increases in other sectors last month, while the average price of imported goods fell at a rate of 6.5 percent.

Switzerland's central bank expects the inflation rate to reach an average of minus 0.5 per cent this year as the economic crisis bites, rising into positive territory next year at 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent.