{"id":31124,"date":"2026-03-19T14:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/31124\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:59:12","slug":"ingings-economist-says-snb-held-rates-at-0-citing-low-inflation-strong-franc-and-weak-forecasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/31124\/","title":{"rendered":"INGING\u2019s economist says SNB held rates at 0%, citing low inflation, strong franc, and weak forecasts"},"content":{"rendered":"The Swiss National Bank kept its policy rate at 0% at its March meeting. Switzerland\u2019s consumer price index rose 0.1% year on year in February, supporting the decision.\n\nA stronger Swiss franc helps limit the impact of higher energy prices. When oil priced in dollars and gas priced in euros are converted into Swiss francs, the rise is smaller.\n\n<h3>Inflation Divergence During The Energy Shock<\/h3>\nThis effect was clear during the 2022 energy shock. Swiss headline inflation peaked at 3.4% in 2022, compared with 10.6% in the euro area and 9% in the United States.\n\nThe SNB\u2019s projections show very low inflation continuing through 2027. This points to rates staying unchanged in the coming quarters.\n\nING said market pricing for a rate rise by the end of the year does not fit the SNB\u2019s inflation outlook. It also expects the inflation gap between Switzerland and trading partners to widen as energy prices lift inflation more elsewhere.\n\nEven if global uncertainty keeps the Swiss franc elevated, real appreciation may be more limited. The article was produced using an AI tool and reviewed by an editor.\n\n<h3>Trading Implications Of A Dovish SNB<\/h3>\nThe Swiss National Bank is signalling a dovish stance, which creates opportunities for us. With Swiss inflation at a low 1.1% in February 2026, the SNB has little reason to consider raising its policy rate from the current 1.25%. This contrasts sharply with the Eurozone, where inflation is hovering around 2.4%, and the United States at 2.8%.\n\nA strong franc continues to shield Switzerland from higher imported energy costs, just as we saw it do during the 2022 energy shock. With Brent crude currently over $85 a barrel, the EUR\/CHF exchange rate holding firm around 0.96 means the impact in franc terms is muted. This reinforces the SNB&#8217;s ability to maintain a looser policy than its global peers.\n\nThis widening inflation differential suggests the SNB will likely cut rates before the European Central Bank or the Federal Reserve. Markets are already pricing in a 25 basis point cut by the June 2026 meeting. This makes long positions in other currencies against the franc look attractive.\n\nFor derivative traders, this outlook supports buying call options on pairs like EUR\/CHF and USD\/CHF. These positions would profit if the franc weakens following an anticipated SNB rate cut. The central bank&#8217;s clear dovish messaging may also lower implied volatility, making option premiums relatively inexpensive.\n\nWe should also consider interest rate derivatives, such as options on SARON futures. If we believe the SNB will act even more decisively than the market expects, positioning for a faster or deeper series of rate cuts could be profitable. This strategy allows for a more direct play on Swiss monetary policy itself.\n\n<b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login\">start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n<p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Start trading now &#8211; Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/trade-now\/\">here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SNB holds rates at 0% as Swiss inflation stays low; strong franc cushions energy shocks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}