Swiss National Bank President: Inflation outlook has considerable uncertainty

ME News Report, April 16 (UTC+8), Swiss National Bank President Jordan Basel Schlegel said on Wednesday local time that the uncertainty about Switzerland’s inflation outlook is “quite high,” and close attention should be paid to whether the impact of the Middle East conflict triggers a second-round effect on inflation. Schlegel stated that the rise in energy costs caused by the Middle East conflict is very likely a supply shock. “But we must observe the second-round effects very closely, and if we see signs of the second-round effects and inflation becomes too high, central banks around the world should act early and decisively,” Schlegel said. Schlegel reviewed the Swiss National Bank’s latest monetary policy decision in March, when the bank kept the benchmark interest rate at zero and slightly raised this year’s inflation forecast to 0.5%. He also pointed out that the Swiss National Bank’s latest forecast shows that inflation will remain within the 0% to 2% target range until 2028. “But clearly, there is quite a high level of uncertainty about this inflation forecast at the moment. Therefore, given the Middle East conflict, our willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market has increased,” Schlegel said. (Source: ODAILY)