Swiss franc appreciates further against the euro and dollar
Published: Thursday, Dec 28th 2023, 13:00
Back to Live Feed
The Swiss franc continues to appreciate against the euro and other major currencies. At times on Thursday, the euro traded for less than 93 centimes. The dollar also continued to lose value against the Swiss currency.
The euro/franc pair fell to 0.9287 francs on Thursday morning, before trading slightly above the 0.93 mark again at midday at 0.9303 francs. This means that the franc has reached another all-time high against the euro - if one excludes the sharp fluctuations in quotations on January 15, 2015 following the discontinuation of the minimum euro exchange rate.
However, it is not clear whether an even lower rate was actually paid at the time, as foreign exchange trading usually takes place between banks and not via official stock exchanges, as is the case with shares. It is even "very, very uncertain", a trader told the news agency AWP on Wednesday.
The US dollar also continued its slide against the franc on Thursday, with a minimum exchange rate of 0.8338, well below 84 centimes. Just the day before, the dollar had at times cost more than 85 centimes.
SNB does not comment
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) did not want to comment on the strengthening of the Swiss franc: "We never comment on movements in the Swiss franc," explained an SNB spokesperson on Thursday when asked by the news agency AWP. In mid-December, SNB Director Thomas Jordan declared that further currency sales were no longer "a priority" for the SNB.
In 2023, the SNB sold foreign currency to support the franc and thus combat imported inflation. In previous years, however, the SNB had bought several hundred billion in foreign currency to weaken the franc and support the Swiss export industry.
Interest rate cuts expected
Market circles attribute the current strength of the Swiss franc primarily to a weak dollar, reinforced by a very thin market at the end of the year. In particular, expectations of interest rate cuts in the USA are putting pressure on the US currency. The US Federal Reserve is expected to make "rapid and strong" interest rate cuts next year, but the European Central Bank is also likely to lower its key interest rates in 2024. The possibility of interest rate cuts by the SNB is considered to be lower.
Since its introduction, the euro has constantly lost value against the franc. When it was introduced as an accounting currency in 1999, the common currency still cost around 1.62 francs. The euro was then introduced as cash at the beginning of 2002, when the exchange rate was around 1.48.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic