Swiss Franc Drops As SNB Leaves Rate Unchanged

(RTTNews) - The Swiss franc moved down against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, as the Swiss National Bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged amid easing inflation, but warned that "uncertainty remains high."

The SNB Governing Board, chaired by Thomas Jordan, decided to hold the policy rate at 1.75 percent.

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

The bank trimmed its inflation forecast for the entire horizon. Inflation for 2023 was projected at 2.1 percent, down from 2.2 percent estimated in September.

The outlook for 2024 was downgraded to 1.9 percent from 2.2 percent. Inflation is seen at 1.6 percent in 2025 compared to the previous estimate of 1.9 percent.

The franc weakened to a 1-week low of 162.16 against the yen and near a 2-week low of 0.9518 against the euro, from yesterday's closing values of 163.84 and 0.9478, respectively. The franc is seen finding support around 162.00 against the yen and 0.97 against the euro.

The franc dropped to a 3-day low of 1.1036 against the pound, from a 1-1/2-month high of 1.0956 seen at 3:30 am ET. The pair was worth 1.0989 at yesterday's close. The franc may face support around the 1.13 level.

The franc fell to 0.8731 against the greenback, after rising to a 4-1/2-month high of 0.8665 in the previous session. The pair had closed yesterday's deals at 0.8715. If it drops further, it may find support around the 0.91 area.

Looking ahead, the Bank of England's monetary policy announcement is due at 7:00 am ET. The BoE is widely expected to hold the rate steady at 5.25 percent.

The European Central Bank is set to announce its decision at 8.15 am ET. The main refinancing rate, or refi, is likely to be retained at 4.50 percent, the deposit facility rate at a record high 4.00 percent and the lending rate at 4.75 percent.

U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended December 9 and retail sales for November are set for release in the New York session.