Monetary policy SNB holds out prospect of further interest rate cuts
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is doing it again: it is lowering the key interest rate. The marked fall in inflationary pressure has enabled it to take this step. And it considers further interest rate cuts conceivable in the near future.
26.09.2024, 09:32
26.09.2024, 10:36
SDA
The so-called SNB key interest rate will be lowered by 0.25 percentage points to 1.00 percent, as the SNB announced on Thursday. The SNB is thus continuing its interest rate turnaround and further easing its monetary policy.
This is the third easing step by the SNB, after it had already lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percent in March, ahead of all other major central banks.
Most recently, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its interest rate by 0.25 percentage points for the second time this year. And the US Federal Reserve heralded its interest rate turnaround last week with a large cut of 0.50 percentage points.
Further interest rate cuts ahead?
The SNB is clearly concerned about the rapidly falling inflation: further interest rate cuts could be necessary in the coming quarters, it emphasized. This is in order to ensure price stability in the medium term as well. The central bank rarely speaks so clearly.
This is because inflation in Switzerland has recently fallen significantly once again, said Thomas Jordan on Thursday at his last press conference as Chairman of the SNB Governing Board.
This is due not least to the strong franc, lower oil prices and forthcoming electricity price cuts. As a result, lower second-round effects are also to be expected in the medium term.
It is therefore quite possible that inflation will be even lower than assumed by the SNB, said Jordan. Overall, the central bank currently considers the downside risks for inflation to be higher than the upside risks, he said.
Inflation in the price stability range
According to the SNB's current forecasts, inflation in Switzerland will already fall very significantly in 2025 and 2026. Values of just 0.6 and 0.7 percent are expected for the next two years. In June, 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent were still predicted.
The SNB is targeting inflation of between zero and two percent for price stability. Inflation had already returned to this range in summer 2023.
And the SNB is still prepared to be active on the foreign exchange market if necessary. According to Jordan, the franc has recently gained "noticeably" in value. The Swiss franc is the SNB's second weapon in its fight against inflation.
