Swiss Central Bank Keeps Rate Unchanged For Second Time

(RTTNews) - The Swiss National Bank left its interest rate unchanged for the second straight meeting on Thursday amid weaker inflation outlook.

The SNB maintained its policy rate at zero percent, in line with expectations.

The central bank had reduced the key rate by 175 basis points since March 2024. The bank exited its negative rate in 2022 after holding it for over seven years.

Banks' sight deposits held at the central bank will be remunerated at the SNB policy rate up to a certain threshold. The discount for sight deposits above this threshold still stands at 0.25 percentage points.

The bank reiterated that it remains willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.

The bank said it will continue to monitor the situation and adjust its monetary policy if necessary, in order to ensure price stability.

Inflation eased to zero percent in November due to weaker rates in the hotel industry and for rents and clothing. The central bank lowered its inflation projections for 2026 and 2027.

Inflation outlook for 2025 was retained at 0.2 percent, while the forecast for 2026 was trimmed to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent and that for 2027 to 0.6 percent from 0.7 percent.

For 2025 as a whole, the SNB expects economic growth of just under 1.5 percent. For 2026, it expects growth of around 1 percent.

The bank cited developments in the global economy as the main risk to Switzerland's economic outlook.

The policy announcement came a day after the US Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate by 25 basis points in a split vote. While a majority of Fed officials voted to cut rates by a quarter point, three cast dissenting votes for the first time since September 2019.