SNB board member Andrea Maechler said yesterday, “our mandate is to bring down inflation and we will use the tools we have to do so… If we see our inflation forecast above 2 percent, we will continue to raise rates.”
“Inflation started with shocks but it’s no longer just shock-driven,” Maechler said. “We see inflation as having the risk of being more persistent.”
“It’s very important that we maintain the focus on implementing the policies to reach price stability in a consistent and sustainable way.”
Regarding Swiss Franc exchange rate, she said the appreciation “has been actually helping us keep our inflation much lower than in some of our neighboring countries.”
Yet, she added, “We’re willing – if the exchange rate were to rise too rapidly, too high – to use intervention to buy foreign exchange… We’re also willing, if the exchange rate were to become too weak, to sell exchange rate but we’re not yet ready to reduce our balance sheet as a policy in itself. This is not the right time.”
