- Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of currency strategy at Commerzbank AG
Switzerland's trade balance rose unexpectedly in March, according to Federal Statistical Office. Swiss trade balance increased to a seasonally adjusted 2.525 billion francs, from 2.316 billion francs in the preceding month, whose figure was revised down from 2.473 billion francs. Meanwhile, a separate report showed Swiss economic expectations improved in April as hopes for a revival in the Euro zone economies, Switzerland's top export market, increased and as the Swiss Franc remained below parity with the single currency. A survey by the ZEW Institute and Credit Suisse Group showed the overall headline gauge of investor and analyst expectations climbed to negative 23.2 points this month from minus 37.9 points in March. This comes after the reading dropped by a record amount in February. Financial analysts are becoming increasingly upbeat about the growth outlook for the Euro zone economies following the European Central Bank's asset-buying programme and lower energy prices. On top of that, more than 70% of respondents predict the Franc to either remain steady or fall versus the Euro. In the meantime, the Swiss Franc slid versus the Euro and Greenback after the central bank said it would eliminate exemptions from its policy of negative interest rates for certain public accounts, including the SNB's pension fund. The move confirms that the SNB's policy of negative interest rates has not been as effective at driving capital away from the Franc as the central bank had hoped.
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