The Swiss National Bank held rates steady today at 25 basis points and yet the Swiss currency found the policy statement to be bullish. The market read the release as a softening of the Swiss bank’s stance on intervening to weaken the Swiss Franc againt the EURO. The head of the SNB, Philipp Hildebrand, noted that tensions in the finacial markets and the fiscal crisises in the World “have increased the downside risks to the economy.” He added,
“Should those downside risks materialize and, via an appreciation of the Swiss Franc, lead to a renewed threat of deflation,the SNB would take all the measures to ensure price stability.”