SNB to Start Cutting Interest Rates in June, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) — The Swiss National Bank will start lowering interest rates sooner than previously predicted, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The first 25 basis-point cut will come in June, with two more to follow in September and December, bringing the key rate to 1%.

The new rate path — arriving just as the SNB sets policy for the first time this year on March 21 — kicks off the easing cycle one quarter earlier than in last month’s poll.

The economists in the survey also lowered their inflation forecasts. They now see consumer-price growth at 1.4% this year and 1.2% in 2025 — down from 1.5% and 1.4% previously. 

What Bloomberg Economics Says…

“When the three rate setters of the SNB meet on Thursday, they will likely be among the first in advanced economies to be able to seriously consider an immediate rate cut. Still, with the economy holding up, pressures on the exchange rate remaining contained and inflation likely to pick up a touch, our view is that they will prefer to wait and keep rates unchanged at 1.75% for now. We see the first rate cut on June 20, two weeks after the ECB is likely to start loosening policy.”

—Maeva Cousin, senior economist. For full preview, click here

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