|

SNB’s Jordan: We cannot rule out further monetary policy tightening

Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Thomas Jordan is addressing a press conference after the central bank announced a 25 basis points (bps) rate hike, raising the key rate to 1.75% in the June quarter.

Key takeaways

Marked decline in inflation is welcome.

Our monetary policy is significantly more restrictive than one year ago.

Monetary tightening has strengthened Swiss Franc, which has damped imported inflation.

Rise in rents will lead to higher domestic inflation.

Still, underlying inflation pressure has risen further.

We cannot rule out further monetary policy tightening.

There is a danger that inflation becoming entrenched above 2%.

Inflation caused by higher rents is not a reason for refraining from rate hikes in future.

Most likely we will have to tighten monetary policy again, but we can also take more gradual approach.

A gradual approach to interest rate rises is appropriate at present, we can look again in September.

View that we would have better monetary policy by not tightening today is false.

Clear necessity to tighten monetary policy now, we cannot circumvent situation with higher rents..

We are never relaxed when inflation is outside our target range.

Market reaction

USD/CHF has erased gains on the above comments, trading at 0.8930.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

More from Dhwani Mehta
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD stays well offered below 1.1800

The selling pressure on EUR/USD is picking up pace, with the pair slipping decisively below the key 1.1800 level and sliding to fresh two week lows as Wednesday’s session draws to a close. The move lower comes as the US Dollar finds renewed strength after the latest round of US data and the release of the FOMC Minutes. Next of note on the docket will be the US weekly Initial Jobless Claims.
 

GBP/USD reaches multi-day lows near 1.3500

GBP/USD reverses its initial upside momentum and is now adding to previous declines, approaching the 1.3500 region on Wednesday. Cable’s downtick comes on the back of decent gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold battle to regain $5,000 continues

Gold is back on the front foot on Wednesday, shaking off part of the early week softness and challenging two-day highs near the $5,000 mark per troy ounce. The move comes ahead of the FOMC Minutes and is unfolding despite an intense rebound in the US Dollar.

Australia unemployment rate set to edge up within overall strong labor market

The Australian monthly employment report is scheduled for release on Thursday at 00:30 GMT, and market participants anticipate a modest increase in jobs in January. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to announce that the country added 20K new jobs in the month, while the Unemployment Rate is forecast at 4.2%, up from the 4.1% posted in December.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Sui extends sideways action ahead of Grayscale’s GSUI ETF launch

Sui is extending its downtrend for the second consecutive day, trading at 0.95 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The Layer-1 token is down over 16% in February and approximately 34% from the start of the year, aligning with the overall bearish sentiment across the crypto market.