- Swiss National Bank keeps its rates steady at -0.75% in December, but it downgrades its inflation forecasts
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Swiss National Bank keeps its rates steady at -0.75% in December, but it downgrades its inflation forecasts
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) released its interest rate decision on Thursday. The central bank kept the rates on sight deposits at minus 0.75% and said that the bank will remain active in the forex market if needed.
The SNB noted that the Swiss franc is still significantly overvalued.
Inflation was upgraded to -1.1% in 2015 from the previous forecast of -1.2%. The central bank expects inflation to be -0.5% in 2016, remained unchanged, and 0.3% in 2017, down from the previous forecast of 0.4%.
The downward revision was driven by "a slight deterioration in the outlook for the global economy".
The central bank noted that the Swiss economy rose slightly in the second quarter, while employment declined further.
According to the central bank, the slowdown in the global economy weighs on the economy in Switzerland.
The SNB expects the Swiss economy to expand "just under" 1% in 2015 and about 1.5% in 2016.
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