SWITZERLAND INTEREST RATE

The benchmark interest rate in Switzerland was last reported at 0.25 percent. In Switzerland, interest rates decisions are
taken by the Swiss National Bank. The official interest rate is the three-month Swiss franc Libor. The SNB regulates the
three-month Libor indirectly through its main financing and liquidity-absorbing operations, which comprise short-term repo
transactions. From 2000 until 2010, Switzerland's average interest rate was 1.52 percent reaching an historical high of 3.50
percent in June of 2000 and a record low of 0.25 percent in March of 2003. This page includes: Switzerland Interest Rate
chart, historical data and news.

Country Interest Rate Growth Rate Inflation Rate Jobless Rate Current Account Exchange Rate

Switzerland 0.25% 0.85% 0.29% 3.70% 20 0.9823

January October 2010 UPDATE DATES DOWNLOAD DATA

2002
COMPARE INDICATORS
to

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2010 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
2009 0.50 0.50 0.38 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
2008 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.63 1.83 0.75
* The table above displays the monthly average.
SWITZERLAND KEEPS INTEREST RATE UNCHANGED
Published: 9/16/2010 6:38:25 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, SNB

The Swiss National Bank said on September 16 it would keep its key interest
rate target at the record low of 0.25 percent, citing the current strength of the
Swiss franc and low risk of inflation. Signup For Trading Economics Analytics
View, download and compare data from
Monetary policy assessment of 16 September 2010
232 countries, including more than
200.000 economic indicators, exchange
Swiss National Bank maintains its expansionary monetary policy rates, government bond yields, stock
indexes, commodity prices and much
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is maintaining its expansionary monetary more.
policy. It is leaving the target range for the three-month Libor unchanged at Learn more
0.00–0.75%, and intends to keep the Libor within the lower part of the target
range at around 0.25%.

The global economic recovery is continuing, albeit at a somewhat slower

pace than the SNB had assumed at the time of the previous monetary policy
assessment. Since mid-2009, the Swiss economy has developed more
dynamically than previously expected. For 2010, the SNB expects real GDP
to grow at a rate of approximately 2.5%. For the second half of the year, and
in particular for 2011, however, the SNB now expects a marked slowdown in
growth. This reflects the strong appreciation of the Swiss franc and the
declining momentum of the global economy.

Uncertainty about the future outlook for the global economy remains high.
Economic recovery is not yet sustainable. Downside risks predominate.
Should they materialise and result in a renewed threat of deflation, the SNB
would take the measures necessary to ensure price stability.

The SNB’s new conditional inflation forecast is lower than the June forecast,
over the entire forecast horizon. Assuming an unchanged three-month Libor
of 0.25%, average inflation for 2010 is expected to amount to 0.7%, for 2011
to 0.3% and for 2012 to 1.2%. The possibility that inflation will temporarily
turn slightly negative at the beginning of 2011 cannot be ruled out. The
inflation forecast indicates that the expansionary monetary policy is currently
appropriate, although it poses long-term risks to price stability.

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SWITZERLAND ECONOMIC NEWS

Switzerland Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged

Published: 9/16/2010 6:38:25 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, SNB
The Swiss National Bank said on September 16 it would keep its key interest rate target at the record low of 0.25 percent,
citing the current strength of the Swiss franc and low risk of inflation.

Swiss Inflation Slowed Fourth Straight Month in August

Published: 9/5/2010 10:25:03 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Swiss inflation slowed for a fourth straight month in August, giving the central bank room to keep borrowing costs near zero.

Swiss Economy Expanded 0.9% in Q2

Published: 9/5/2010 6:50:37 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg
Switzerland’s economy expanded at a faster pace than economists forecast in the second quarter as companies stepped up
spending to meet global demand.

Switzerland Posts Record Trade Surplus in July

Published: 8/21/2010 5:05:05 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Reuters
Switzerland posted a record trade surplus in July and although the pace of export growth slowed, the economy is expected
to maintain momentum in the third quarter.

Swiss Inflation Drops in June

Published: 7/6/2010 9:06:59 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Reuters
Swiss consumer price inflation dropped sharply in June, undershooting forecasts and giving fresh impetus to a debate on
whether the country's central bank might resume currency interventions.

Swiss Exports Rise in May

Published: 6/22/2010 9:14:54 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Reuters
Swiss exports rose in May, data showed on Tuesday, defying a rally by the franc against the euro and indicating that the
Alpine state's economy could stomach a stronger currency.

Swiss National Bank Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged

Published: 6/17/2010 10:07:18 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, SNB
After its regular quarterly policy-setting meeting the SNB left the target range for its benchmark three-month Swiss franc
London interbank offered rate unchanged at 0.0%-0.75%.

Swiss Unemployment Stays Flat in May

Published: 6/8/2010 12:08:34 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, RTT News
Switzerland's seasonally adjusted jobless rate in May was 4%, unchanged from April, latest report from the State Secretariat
for Economic Affairs showed Tuesday. There were 156,453 unemployed people in May, down from 157,793 in April.

Swiss Annual Inflation Slows In May

Published: 6/8/2010 12:03:24 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, RTT News
Switzerland's consumer price annual inflation slowed to 1.1% in May from 1.4% in April, the Federal Statistical Office
reported. A year ago, consumer prices were down 1%.

Swiss Economy Grows 0.4% in Q1

Published: 6/1/2010 9:55:06 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, RTT News
Swiss GDP expanded 0.4% in Q1 2010, disappointing on market expectations of 0.7% growth. Last quarter's growth was
revised from 0.9% to 0.7%. This brings annualized GDP figures to 2.2% for Q1 2010, up from prior quarter's 0.6% and
above market expectations of 1.8% expansion this quarter.

More news
INTEREST RATE TERM STRUCTURE DEFINITION

The interest rate term structure is the relation between the interest rate and the time to maturity of the debt for a given
borrower in a given currency. For example, the current U.S. dollar interest rates paid on U.S. Treasury securities for various
maturities are closely watched by many traders, and are commonly plotted on a graph such as the one on the right which is
informally called "the yield curve." More formal mathematical descriptions of this relation are often called the term structure
of interest rates.

Yield curves are usually upward sloping asymptotically; the longer the maturity, the higher the yield, with diminishing
marginal growth. There are two common explanations for this phenomenon. First, it may be that the market is anticipating a
rise in the risk-free rate. If investors hold off investing now, they may receive a better rate in the future. Therefore, under the
arbitrage pricing theory, investors who are willing to lock their money in now need to be compensated for the anticipated rise
in rates — thus the higher interest rate on long-term investments.However, interest rates can fall just as they can rise.

Another explanation is that longer maturities entail greater risks for the investor (i.e. the lender). Risk premium should be
paid, since with longer maturities, more catastrophic events might occur that impact the investment. This explanation
depends on the notion that the economy faces more uncertainties in the distant future than in the near term, and the risk of
future adverse events (such as default and higher short-term interest rates) is higher than the chance of future positive
events (such as lower short-term interest rates). This effect is referred to as the liquidity spread. If the market expects more
volatility in the future, even if interest rates are anticipated to decline, the increase in the risk premium can influence the
spread and cause an increasing yield (source: wikipedia).