National Bank watches currency-inflation link
The president of the Swiss National Bank, Jean-Pierre Roth, has said the bank is keeping a watchful eye of the Swiss franc's exchange rate, mainly to judge its possible impact on inflation.
Speaking in Zurich to the Association of Swiss Businesses in Germany, Roth said that the Swiss National Bank was looking at the currency exchange rate “to the extent that it effects the inflation forecast”.
He also said that in recent years the SNB had been fortunate that exchange rate levels had contributed to price stability and a balanced economic development. However, he added that this was unlikely to always be the case.
Roth told the meeting that the SNB had adopted an independent policy vis-à-vis the European Central Bank. He said Switzerland was not a member of the European Union and was therefore not planning to join the European monetary union.
Any linking of the franc to the euro would mean Switzerland would be unable to set its own monetary policy to reflect the domestic economic situation and the Swiss would also have to accept higher interest rates.
swissinfo with agencies
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