- Energy prices still determined by war situation
- If necessary our readiness to intervene in forex market is higher, difficult to say if it is more or less than before
- We look at the whole situation when it comes to interventions, the franc has weakened a bit since the last meeting
- Many factors affect the exchange rate, the interest rate differential to ECB and our increased readiness to intervene
- Geopolitical, trade uncertainty is high
- The future development depends on the situation in the Middle East
- Can’t be ruled out that this de-escalation in the Middle East is just temporary
- We don’t give forward guidance, we decide from meeting to meeting
- Second-round inflationary effects not seen in Switzerland
- Monetary conditions are weaker than in March
- At the moment it is not necessary to act on interest rate
During the SNB press conference, Chairman Schlegel was asked why they added “if necessary” in the line saying “readiness to intervene in forex markets is higher”. Was it because they see less urgency given the positive developments in the Middle East?
Schlegel dodged the question by saying that “if necessary their readiness to intervene in forex market is higher, difficult to say if it is more or less than before”. This has led to more weakness in the Swiss franc.
In the prior statement, they said “SNB’s willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market has increased” but today they added “if necessary” which reads somewhat less “hawkish”.
