Producer Price Index MoM

Producer Price Index MoM (month-on-month change versus the prior month) measures Swiss upstream goods prices each month. It covers goods made and sold by firms operating in Switzerland, for domestic sale and export, plus imported goods, and runs since 1914. Domestic prices use the 1st marketing stage ex works (factory gate without VAT), while exports use FOB (priced onboard without VAT).

Imports use Swiss-border prices without VAT, customs or consumption taxes. CPI (Consumer Price Index, shop prices) stays outside, services join gradually with a separate selected-services index, and construction has its own indexes.

A compulsory survey of about 4100 firms records transaction prices at order from the 1st to the 8th of the survey month less discounts. One press release follows in the month after the reference month, around mid-month, under embargo at 08:30 Swiss local time. Swiss National Bank (SNB) and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) get it 4 working days early; press agencies get it 15 minutes early. Tables show the index, MoM and YoY (year-on-year change) with contributions in points plus charts; there is no provisional label.

PPI groups differ by weight and volatility, and petroleum often drives the monthly move despite its small weight.

• Chemical and pharmaceutical products, 29.8095%: the largest group, covering pharmaceutical preparations and basic pharmaceutical products.
• Computer, electronic and optical products, watches, 14.5092%: makers of electronics, optical goods and watches.
• Food products, beverages, tobacco products, 9.7630%: everyday food, drink and tobacco goods.
• Machinery, 9.6393%: machines sold by Swiss producers.
• Basic metals, metal products, 7.2602%: metals and fabricated metal goods.
• Petroleum products, 0.7139%: a tiny but volatile group that often drives the monthly move.

The June 2022 release (embargo July 14, 2022) showed the total at 109.8, up 0.3% MoM and 6.9% YoY. Imports drove the headline at 117.9, up 0.6% MoM and 12.1% YoY, against PPI at 106.0, up 0.2% MoM and 4.4% YoY. Petroleum hit 272.2, up 4.2% MoM, 100.9% YoY on 0.7139 weight, while chemicals and pharma sat at 0.0% MoM and -0.1% YoY on 29.8095 weight. Check the import leg and the energy and petroleum contribution before reading the headline as broad inflation.

1. Collect: record market prices at order less discounts: domestic ex works (factory gate), exports FOB (priced onboard) and imports at the border. Convert foreign prices at the 1st working-day rate.
2. Elementary index: divide each item price by its base-month price and multiply by 100; agriculture uses average prices instead.
3. Average: take the arithmetic mean (simple average) of elementary indices within each position.
4. Laspeyres index: weight each position by its base-period sales share and sum in a fixed-basket Laspeyres index held constant for years. Set PPI weights from production values and turnover and import weights from trade structure. Keep them fixed for about 5 years, then renew at rebasing with chaining. For example, base sales of 6000 and 8000 give shares 0.4286 and 0.5714; relatives 105.0 and 98.0 give 101.0, or +0.6% versus 100.4.
5. No seasonal fix: keep seasonal moves in the index; no seasonal coefficients correct individual prices.
6. Monthly rate: compute MoM% as (index now divided by index in the prior month minus 1) times 100. A group contribution equals its weight share times its MoM%.