• SNB eases back on interventions in battle against stronger franc

Market news

26 August 2019

SNB eases back on interventions in battle against stronger franc

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.

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 ECB 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.

Market Focus
Material posted here is solely for information purposes and reliance on this may lead to losses. Past performances are not a reliable indicator of future results. Please read our full disclaimer
Open Demo Account & Personal Page
I understand and accept the Privacy Policy and agree to my name and contact details being used by TeleTrade to contact me about this.