SNB Refrained From Currency Interventions in Third Quarter

(Bloomberg) — The Swiss National Bank largely kept out of currency markets in the third quarter, avoiding interventions after Donald Trump’s tariffs had forced officials to sell francs in the previous period.

The SNB bought foreign exchange worth just 75 million francs ($95 million) in the three months through September, according to data published on Wednesday.

That’s in line with the level of interventions made by Switzerland’s central bank during an effective 15-month hiatus in market interactions through March. After Trump’s tariff onslaught in the spring, the SNB then pushed some 5 billion francs into circulation to mitigate a surge of the haven currency.

The SNB publishes a tally of its transactions on a quarterly basis with a three-month delay. That keeps observers and markets guessing on possible interventions.

Economists at UBS estimate that policymakers refrained from meaningful market moves to weaken the franc since the reaction to Trump’s levies in April and through November, even when the currency reached a decade high against the euro last month.

“While this indicates that the SNB is not overly concerned about the strength of the Swiss franc, we would not rule out FX purchases by the SNB should the franc appreciate excessively,” said Florian Germanier.

The inaction is in line with a new doctrine of more judicious confrontations with traders the central bank has adopted. A previous peak of the franc’s exchange rate in October also didn’t trigger interventions.

In the third quarter, the Swiss currency was essentially flat against both the euro and the dollar. During 2025 as a whole, the franc rose 14.42% against the dollar and 0.949% against the euro.

For SNB monetary policy, the gains against the European currency are more important, as Switzerland trades more with the euro area than with the US. A strong franc also weighs on Swiss inflation as it depresses import prices.

Policymakers led by President Martin Schlegel maintain that they stand ready to use interventions — in both directions — to keep consumer-price growth from overshooting or undershooting. After they cut interest rates to zero in June and showed that they apply a high bar to going below that, market action could take a more prominent role in their toolkit going forward.

Data for the period from October to December are due on March 31.

–With assistance from Harumi Ichikura.

(Updates with UBS estimates starting in fifth paragraph.)

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