Swiss National Bank Rate Decision

The Swiss National Bank reviews monetary policy only four times a year, far less often than most peers, which means each assessment tends to carry more pent-up information. Its three-member Governing Board takes the decision, publishes a monetary policy assessment at half past nine in the morning and holds a press conference shortly afterward. The SNB policy rate is the key tool, and its conditional inflation forecast, published with every assessment, sets out the expected path under current policy.

Switzerland's situation is distinctive. The franc has long been sought as a safe haven in periods of stress, and appreciation can push down import prices and squeeze exporters. The bank's mandate is price stability, defined as inflation within a low positive band, and it has at times fought a strong franc with negative interest rates and extensive currency intervention. It explicitly describes its willingness to intervene in foreign-exchange markets as part of its policy, so its language on that subject can matter as much as the rate itself.

The SNB has shown it can surprise markets: most memorably when it abandoned its minimum exchange rate against the euro without warning in 2015, sending the franc sharply higher within minutes. That episode still colours how traders position around its announcements. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF typically take the first reaction.

Swiss CPI is released monthly and is typically the main domestic data input. The SNB's holdings of foreign currencies, reported quarterly, give indirect evidence of how much it has intervened.