SNB president Jean-Pierre Roth paints a grim picture of the Swiss economy, noting it contracted by a 1.9% annual rate in Q4 2008. The near-term outlook remains gloomy and the economy will shrink in 2009, he says. The fall in Swiss exports is broad-based and is due manly to the fall in global demand. The strong franc has contributed as well, he says. To add insult to injury, the assets taken off of UBS’s balance sheet have fallen in value, Roth reports.
USD/CHF is in the middle of its range at 1.1750.