The Swiss National Bank (SNB) board members decided to cut the benchmark Sight Deposit Rate by 25 basis points (bps) from 1.50% to 1.25%, following its quarterly monetary policy assessment on Thursday.
The decision came in line with the market expectations.
The SNB announced a surprise 25 bps rate reduction in March to 1.50%, which made it the first major central bank to dial back tighter monetary policy.
Summary of the SNB policy statement
Momentum on the mortgage and real estate markets in recent quarters has been weaker than in previous years.
Also willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.
The utilisation of overall production capacity was normal.
A renewed increase in geopolitical tensions could result in weaker development of global economic activity.
Able to maintain appropriate monetary conditions.
Will adjust its monetary policy if necessary to ensure inflation remains within the range consistent with price stability over the medium term.
Monetary policy remains restrictive in manycountries.
Inflation in Switzerland is currently being driven above all by higher prices for domestic services.
Global economic growth was solid in the first quarter of 2024.
The forecast for Switzerland, as for the global economy, is subject to significant uncertainty.developments abroad represent the main risk.
SNB sees 2025 inflation at 1.1% (previous forecast was for 1.2%) (removes extraneous letters).
SNB sees 2024 swiss growth at around 1% (previous forecast was for around 1.0%).
SNB sees Q1 2027 inflation at 1.0%.
SNB sees 2024 inflation at 1.3% (previous forecast was for 1.4%).
SNB sees 2026 inflation at 1.0% (previous forecast was for 1.1%).
Market reaction to the SNB interest rate decision
In a knee-jerk reaction to the expected SNB rate cut decision, the USD/CHF pair jumped over 50 pips to test 0.8900, where it now wavers. The pair is up 0.53% on the day.
Swiss Franc PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Swiss Franc (CHF) against listed major currencies today. Swiss Franc was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.07% | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.01% | -0.05% | -0.06% | 0.44% | |
| EUR | -0.07% | -0.01% | 0.00% | -0.06% | -0.12% | -0.14% | 0.37% | |
| GBP | -0.06% | 0.01% | 0.02% | -0.04% | -0.10% | -0.13% | 0.37% | |
| JPY | -0.05% | 0.00% | -0.02% | -0.09% | -0.10% | -0.16% | 0.37% | |
| CAD | -0.01% | 0.06% | 0.04% | 0.09% | -0.07% | -0.08% | 0.43% | |
| AUD | 0.05% | 0.12% | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.07% | -0.02% | 0.49% | |
| NZD | 0.06% | 0.14% | 0.13% | 0.16% | 0.08% | 0.02% | 0.50% | |
| CHF | -0.44% | -0.37% | -0.37% | -0.37% | -0.43% | -0.49% | -0.50% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Swiss Franc from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent CHF (base)/USD (quote).
