Swiss central bank leaves interest rates unchanged

[ZURICH] Switzerland's central bank on Thursday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and said it is still willing to intervene in currency markets to weaken the"significantly overvalued" Swiss franc.

As unanimously expected by economists in a Reuters poll, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) kept its target range for three-month Libor between -1.25 and -0.25 per cent. It also maintained a charge on cash deposits of 0.75 per cent.

"The global economic outlook has deteriorated slightly in recent months and the situation on international financial markets remains volatile," the SNB said in a statement.

"Against this background, the negative interest rate and the SNB's willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market serve to ease pressure on the Swiss franc."

REUTERS