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Swiss Bank, ready for new measures to prevent the franc appreciation
Swiss central bank decided to maintain monetary policy interest rate to zero, to reduce the risk of a recession and said it is ready to take "further measures" if needed to prevent the franc appreciation against the euro. The central bank keep rates at zero three-month Libor target after last month surprised by its reducereea to 0.25%. Reiterated that the financial institution will occur during the French ceiling imposed for "maximum determination" and warned that it expects economic stagnation in the second half of the year that the decline in consumer prices next year. Bank imposed last week a ceiling of 1.2 francs to euros and committed to buying "unlimited amounts" of foreign currency to protect the country's economy. Franc appreciation to a record in August had a strong impact on large companies in Switzerland and has caused a slowdown in the second quarter to an advance of 0.4%. Franc, considered a safe investment in times of financial instability has reached a record high of 1.0075 francs per euro on August 9 due to investors fears that European governments might be unable to stop the debt crisis in the region. Swiss currency remains above the threshold of 1.2 units per euro after the Bank introduced the ceiling. For 2011, Swiss Bank has increased its forecast for economic growth from 2% to 1.2 to 2% and inflation from 0.9% to 0.4%, according to Mediafax. The following year, consumer prices could go down by 0.3%, will climb by 0.5% in 2013.
