The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reported a consolidated loss of SFr10.8 billion ($13.5 billion) for the first half of 2011.
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According to a release published by the SNB on Friday, losses on the bank’s foreign currency positions amounted to some SFr9.9 billion.
This was mainly due to exchange rate-related valuation losses of around SFr11.7 billion, said the SNB.
At mid-year, the gold price per kilogramme was about SFr40,800, leading to a valuation loss of SFr1.6 billion. A net loss of SFr123 million was recorded on Swiss franc positions.
A year ago at this time, the bank recorded a much smaller loss of SFr2.78 billion.
The SNB result depends largely on developments in the gold, foreign exchange and capital markets. Because fluctuations are common, it is not possible to make accurate predictions for the rest of the year.
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