SNB: sharp increase in foreign exchange purchases
Keystone-SDA
Foreign exchange purchases by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) increased significantly in the second quarter.
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Between April and June, the institution bought the equivalent of CHF5.1 billion ($6.4 billion), according to statistics published on Tuesday, as usual at the end of the quarter following the period under analysis.
The bank had also previously bought foreign currency, but to a much more limited extent: in the first quarter of 2025 the amount was only CHF49 million, in the fourth quarter of 2024 CHF103 million. In the whole of 2024, CHF1.2 billion had been recorded.
As will be remembered, in 2024 the bank now led by Martin Schlegel had returned to buying foreign currencies, after it had acted as a large-scale seller between 2022 and 2023, in order to keep the franc high and thus reduce imported inflation: in the whole of 2023, the sales had amounted to CHF133 billion.
Transactions with foreign currencies are, next to the setting of interest rates, the main instrument of monetary policy practised by the central bank. Last week, on September 25, the institution decided to keep the key rate unchanged at 0.0%. At the same time, the SNB also reiterated its readiness to intervene in the foreign exchange market, should this be deemed necessary.
Adapted from Italian by DeepL/jdp
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