"Global uncertainty will persist for the foreseeable future and drive demand for secure investments"
- SNB President Thomas Jordan
Swiss economy is widely expected to continue its expansion in the next year, however, at a slower pace due to the global slowdown and growing uncertainty over the Eurozone debt crisis. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs now projects the economy to grow by 1.3% in 2013 and 2% in the 2014, also saying the unemployment rate can increase significantly. Despite the slump in exports because of the unfavourable economic conditions, the economy is likely to expand by 1% in this year. The growth was fostered by the SNB's policy, which has been selling francs for other currencies, mostly euros, in order to avoid the risk of deflation and a recession, when investors rushed to buy Swiss francs as a safe haven from the Eurozone's debt crisis.
"Global uncertainty will persist for the foreseeable future and drive demand for secure investments," SNB President Thomas Jordan said at a briefing in Bern. "As a result, the exchange-rate situation will remain fragile, despite the calmer environment that has come about as a result of the measures taken by the ECB. We cannot exclude the possibility that we will have to intervene substantially again."
SNB Vice Chairman Jean-Pierre Danthine added: "We want to contribute to a soft landing. Activating the countercyclical capital buffer is a question of timing."
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