SNB's Foreign Currency Reserves Fell in May as Franc Gained

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss National Bank’s holdings of foreign currency dropped 1.6% in May, a month when the franc rallied against both the euro and the dollar.

The SNB’s pile of foreign exchange declined to 760 billion francs ($765 billion) last month from 772 billion francs in April, data published on its website on Friday showed. A spokesman for the SNB declined to comment.

The SNB acquired its vast holdings of foreign currency as a result of its interventions to weaken the franc, which investors buy at times of heightened risk aversion. The euro and the dollar make up the lion’s share of those holdings, and the franc climbed 1.9% against the greenback and 2.3% against the common currency last month.

The SNB’s quarterly policy assessment is due on June 13, where it’s all but certain to stick to its policy of negative interest rates and reiterate its pledge to wage currency interventions if needed.

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, Brian Swint, David Goodman

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