SNB Eases Back on Interventions in Battle Against Stronger Franc
SNB Eases Back on Interventions in Battle Against Stronger Franc
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Swiss National Bank statistics indicate that it kept up currency interventions to weaken the franc last week, albeit at a slower pace.
Sight deposits rose about 2.5 billion francs to 591.7 billion francs. The increase is less than the 3.8 billion-franc jump the previous week, which was the biggest since 2017. However, it’s still almost five times the average for the whole of 2019.
The amount of cash commercial banks have at the SNB has increased over the past month as the franc rallied to its strongest in two years against the euro. That suggests the central bank is making good on its long-running pledge to intervene, in conjunction with a -0.75% deposit rate, to keep the currency from appreciating.
The SNB declined to comment.
Fears about the global economy have piled pressure on the haven franc, as has the prospect of additional monetary stimulus in the euro area. The European Central Bank is expected to join a global wave of easing next month and cut its deposit rate further below zero. Investors are betting bets the SNB will follow suit with a rate cut of its own.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Bosley in Zurich at cbosley1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Jan Dahinten
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