The Swiss National Bank met to make monetary policy decisions during the 9/18 European session. As expected, the SNB kept its libor rate in the 0.0%-0.25% band. the SNB noted deteriorating economic conditions domestic and abroad, lower inflation expectations, and the fact that the “Swiss franc is still high”. In its press release, the central bank noted: ” At an annualised rate of –0.2%, second-quarter GDP growth in Switzerland was distinctly lower than forecast in June. Despite having expected a rate of around 2% in June, given the current data, the SNB now puts this year’s growth rate at only just below 1.5%. ” ... (full story)