The Swiss National Bank refrained from loosening its already very accommodative monetary policy even further at today’s policy meeting, resulting in big gains for the Swiss franc. The currency rallied even though the central bank suggested that it may intervene in case economic conditions continue to deteriorate.
The SNB decided to keep its monetary policy unchanged today. The tone of the statement was rather pessimistic as the central bank said:
The economic outlook has deteriorated considerably.
The SNB also continued to complain about the strength of the currency:
The Swiss franc is still high.
Moreover, the statement warned that the central bank is ready to intervene:
If necessary, it will take further measures immediately.
Still, the franc managed to rally as speculations about negative interest rates did not come true, at least for now.
USD/CHF sank from 0.9410 to 0.9346 as of 17:32 GMT today after reaching the high of 0.9433 — the strongest rate since September 2013. EUR/CHF dropped from 1.2105 to 1.2070, while CHF/JPY rallied from 115.13 to 116.32, trading near the highest level since May 8.
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