SNB Spent $2.3 Billion Intervening in 2018, Least in Five Years

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The Swiss National Bank bought foreign currencies worth 2.3 billion francs ($2.3 billion) last year.

The central bank has waged interventions from time to time over the past decade as it seeks to stem appreciation pressure on the currency, but provides few details on such action and only lists a total in its annual report.

The tally for 2018 is the smallest since 2013. Last year the franc briefly fell as low as 1.20 per euro on waning risk aversion in April, though later reversed most of that slide.

The SNB is likely to affirm its commitment to interventions at its policy announcement later on Thursday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey also expect it to keep its deposit rate at a record low of minus 0.75 percent.

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, Zoe Schneeweiss, Jana Randow

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