How much is the Iran war costing consumers here? A new statistic provides initial information.
05/06/2026, 05:3905/06/2026, 05:39
The Federal Statistical Office published the national consumer price index for April on Tuesday published. Accordingly, inflation in Switzerland is increasing again. In April prices were an average of 0.6 percent higher than in the previous year. This is the largest increase since December 2024.
When they stand still, prices in Switzerland move: A cargo ship waits in the Strait of HormuzImage: keystone
At that time, inflation was falling, after an inflationary double whammy. First, the upheavals after the Corona crisis drove prices up with force. Then there was an energy price shock in 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine and at the same time started an economic war against the European Union.
Currently it is the Iran war that is causing inflation to rise again. The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of global oil supply flows in normal times, has driven up oil prices worldwide. Brent crude oil is now trading at a price per barrel that is almost 90 percent higher than at the beginning of the year.
As a result, the offers of processed crude oil – such as gasoline, diesel or heating oil – are becoming more expensive in individual countries. Depending on the country, these prices are subject to national factors, such as taxes or duties. This is why, measured as a percentage, price increases vary greatly.
According to the national index, the price of heating oil in Switzerland rose by 35 percent in April compared to the same month last year. This is the largest April increase since 2022, when the increase was 75 percent. Diesel and gasoline rose by a rounded 19 and 9 percent – which were also the highest increases since April 2022. And finally, aviation fuel has become more expensive, which is why air travel costs around 6 percent more than a year ago – the highest increase since 2023.
Already achieved all-time records in the USA
Swiss consumers will not be happy about the price increases. A small consolation, however, is that Switzerland is still getting off comparatively lightly.
In the USA, for example, gasoline prices have increased significantly. As the US comparison service Gasbuddy reports, prices this week are around 40 percent higher than a year ago. In some states, diesel prices have risen even more sharply. They even reached all-time records in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
And in Germany, households pay an average of 10 percent more for their own energy and fuel than in the previous year. In Switzerland, on the other hand, the price increase for energy and fuel is only half as large at 5 percent.
A race against time
How much inflation will increase will be decided in the Strait of Hormuz. US energy expert Jason Bordoff says this in an interview CNNthe global energy system could find itself in two different worlds in a few months.
Either the strait remains closed for so long that the opening comes too late and a critical point is exceeded from which there is no turning back. Crude oil will then become even more expensive and there will be great economic damage. Board off:
“It is difficult to predict when the time will come; the oil markets do not move linearly. But I would say in a month, two at most.”
Or the strait opens just in time. Then the global economy could quickly return to the state it was in before the Iran war. This condition was characterized by an oversupply of petroleum – the world produced more petroleum than it consumed. And that put pressure on oil prices.
“Commodity markets are betting that once the strait opens, it will only take a month or two for previous oil supplies to be restored,” says Bordoff.
“Then there would be an oversupply on the oil market again.”
The clock is ticking.
(aargauerzeitung.ch)