At its regular quarterly monetary policy meeting in March, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) kept the target range for the three-month Libor unchanged, at between -1.25% and -0.25%, as expected.
The interest rate on sight deposits at the SNB was kept at -0.75%, and the exemption thresholds remained unchanged.
Deflation risks have increased significantly on the back of the strong CHF and low oil prices.
UniCredit notes its views as follows....
- The SNB considers the CHF overvalued and will intervene in the FX market if necessary in order to influence monetary conditions.
- The SNB will also take further measures (i.e. cutting the rates further into negative territory) immediately as needed.
- We expect the SNB to maintain a wait-and-see attitude in the future unless the pressure on the FX market strengthens and/or price developments become even more negative.
