Petrol, rent, food How prices have changed since 2021

Inflation has now eased again. But will petrol, flights, electricity or rents become cheaper or more expensive next year?

Inflation has weakened again in the meantime. In November, prices rose by 0.7 percent.

But how have prices developed compared to 2021? The national consumer price index provides an overview. The Federal Statistical Office uses it to compare the prices of all goods and services consumed by a typical household in Switzerland.

In November 2024, this national index was five percent higher than in November 2021, as reported by the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper. This means that Swiss households have to pay five percent more for everyday products.

Prices have developed differently:

Oil costs as much again as before the wave of inflation. The reason for this is the drop in demand in China. The country's construction industry is in crisis and the number of electric cars on the roads is booming. Both of these factors are reducing the demand for oil, according to the report. In Switzerland, prices for heating oil and petrol are now back at 2021 levels.

Electricity costs 50 percent more. In many municipalities, the price will fall in the new year, but only by ten percent. Gas costs 60 percent more since the war in Ukraine. The reason for this is that Europe is increasingly receiving expensive liquid gas instead of cheap Russian gas from the pipeline.

There is currently no improvement in sight. If it is dry and cloudy for two weeks, as was the case in November, gas prices are likely to rise rapidly again. Gas is still a concern and therefore also electricity, because gas is important in its production, says Bloomberg expert Javier Blas in the report.

Rising energy costs are leading to higher prices in various sectors. This is also the case in the catering industry, where restaurants now charge an average of 6.6 percent more and hotels 11 percent more. Food prices have risen by an average of 7 percent.

In the food sector, the prices paid in world trade for particularly important raw materials play a decisive role. Grain prices have risen, for example, and olive oil has at times tripled in price due to extreme weather events. As a result, bread in Switzerland now costs 11 percent more and pasta as much as 17 percent more. The biggest price increase was for margarine and cooking fats at 24 percent, sugar costs 26 percent more and olive oil 37 percent.

Price increases are expected to slow down in 2025, but climate change could continue to lead to crop failures and price shocks, particularly for tea, coffee and cocoa.

According to the national index, flying cost almost 30 percent more from January to November 2024 than in 2019, the last year before the Covid crisis, the report continues. In the long term, flight tickets would probably continue to cost as much as they do now or even more. The reason for this is that switching to air traffic with lower CO2 emissions is associated with high costs.

Compared to November 2021, residential rents have risen by 7.4 percent. The main reason for this was the National Bank's interest rate hikes. As a result, the average interest rate on all outstanding mortgages rose and thus also the reference interest rate for existing rental agreements twice. As a result, rents were also increased. Building also became more expensive. Fewer apartments came onto the market and new tenants paid even more.

This year, however, the SNB reversed the trend by lowering key interest rates. Many tenants are therefore likely to see their rents fall next spring.