"It is not a panacea for all the problems facing the economy, and carries considerable risks"
- SNB board member Fritz Zurbruegg
The Swiss National Bank will continue enforcing the cap it imposed on the nation's currency to stave off the recession and avoid the risk of deflation, the SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said Thursday. However, the Swiss currency still remains highly valued, and represents a burden for the economy. The bank was defending its 1.2 cap, by selling francs against the basket of major currencies since Sept. 6, 2011. Moreover, the SNB is not planning to introduce further measures to protect the still weak Swiss economy.
"It is not a panacea for all the problems facing the economy, and carries considerable risks," SNB board member Fritz Zurbruegg said.
"The weak global economy and the difficult situation for sectors exposed to international competition clearly show us that it is absolutely necessary to keep the minimum exchange rate," said the bank's chairman, Thomas Jordan.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, rose 0.53 per cent to stand at 6,679.11. The broader Swiss Performance Index inched higher 0.53 per cent reaching 6,149.04.
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