The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced on Thursday its decision to cut its benchmark sight deposit rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 1.25%, matching analysts' expectations.
The bank stated that such a move follows a sign of inflationary pressure slowing down for a second time compared to the previous quarter with the consumer price index slightly advancing at 1.4% after the last monetary decision of March. According to the bank, the "inflationary pressure abroad is likely to continue to ease gradually over the next quarters" and the new forecast for the evolution of prices in the country leaves annual inflation at 1.3% for 2024, 1.1% for 2025 and 1.0% for 2026.
"Taking into account today’s policy rate cut, the new conditional inflation forecast is similar to that of March. Over the longer term, it is slightly below the previous forecast. This reflects somewhat lower second-round effects. the bank said," the bank noted.
