The SNB announces its 21 March 2019 monetary policy decision
- Prior -0.75%
- 3-month Libor lower target range -1.25%
- 3-month Libor upper target range -0.25%
Here's the statement from the central bank's meeting:
- Swiss franc remains highly valued
- Situation of FX market continues to be fragile
- Prepared to intervene in markets if needed
- 2019 GDP growth forecast seen at 1.5% (unchanged)
- 2019 inflation forecast seen at 0.3% (down from 0.5% in December)
- 2020 inflation forecast seen at 0.6% (down from 1.0% in December)
- 2021 inflation seen at 1.2%
- Global risks are still to the downside
- Central bank makes downward revision to its growth outlook for advanced economies
Weaker inflation forecasts coming out there by the SNB, matching that of what we've seen by the ECB at the start of this month. This basically underscores that the central bank is still some way to go before normalising policy and though they don't ever explicitly say it, they won't do so until the ECB does.
Aside from the weaker forecasts, there isn't much else that has changed. Basically a non-event for the swissie. USD/CHF sits at flat levels on the day but at the highs now near 0.9930 as the dollar holds its own at the start of European trading.
