By CountingPips.com
Consumer price inflation increased by more than expected in Switzerland for the month of March, according to the latest data release provided by the Switzerland Federal Statistics Office. Consumer prices, a key measure of inflation, rose by 0.6 percent in March following a 0.4 percent increase in February.
The March data easily surpassed market forecasts that were expecting a 0.2 percent increase for the month.
On an annual basis, consumer prices rose by 1.0 percent from the March 2010 to the March 2011 time-frame following a 0.5 percent annual rise in February. The annual advance was double the market forecasts which were expecting an increase of 0.5 percent.
Swiss franc trades higher in Forex
The Swiss currency has been boosted today in forex trading against the other major currencies following the higher-than-expected inflation data. The franc has risen against the Japanese yen, US dollar, euro, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar, according to currency data by Oanda in the morning of the US session.
Eurozone GDP steady at 0.3% growth in fourth quarter
Out of the Eurozone today, the gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2010 grew at a rate of 0.3 percent a seasonally adjusted basis. This data was unchanged from the previous estimate.
On annual basis, the GDP rose by 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter from the fourth quarter of 2009 and was also unchanged from the previous estimate. Gross fixed capital for the fourth quarter declined by 0.5 percent while household consumption rose by 0.4 percent and government expenditure edged higher by 0.1 percent.
The Eurozone will be in focus tomorrow as the European Central Bank is widely expected to raise its interest rate by 25 basis points to the 1.25 percent level.