Swiss Franc Mixed After SNB Decision

(RTTNews) - The Swiss franc showed mixed trading against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, after the Swiss National Bank's decision to raise its policy rate by 50 basis points, in line with expectations.

The SNB raised its policy rate by 0.5 percentage points to 1 percent from 0.50 percent.

"It cannot be ruled out that additional rises in the SNB policy rate will be necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term," the bank said in the statement.

The central bank said it is willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.

The SNB noted that global economic growth would be weak in the coming quarters, and inflation would remain elevated for the time being.

European markets fell, as the Federal Reserve signalled that it would continue to raise rates in the next year.

Fed policymakers see the terminal rate rising to 5.1 percent next year, up from the September projection of 4.6 percent.

The franc jumped to 147.43 against the yen, its highest level since November 25. The pair was valued at 146.55 when it ended trading on Wednesday. The franc is seen finding resistance around the 152.00 mark.

The franc rebounded to 0.9839 against the euro, off an early 2-day low of 0.9894. The franc had ended yesterday's trading session at 0.9874 against the euro. The franc is likely to face resistance around the 0.965 region, if it gains again.

The franc was down against the greenback, at a 2-day low of 0.9304. The pair had finished Wednesday's deals at 0.9244. Should the franc falls further, it is likely to test support around the 0.96 region.

The franc pulled back to 1.1483 against the pound, after hitting a 6-day high of 1.1417 at 4:15 am ET. The franc is poised to challenge support around the 1.18 mark.

Looking ahead, the Bank of England's monetary policy announcement is due at 7:00 am ET Thursday. The BoE is widely expected to raise its key rate by 50 basis points to 3.50 percent from 3 percent.

The European Central Bank will announce interest rate decision at 8:15 am ET Thursday. The ECB is expected to hike its main refinancing rate by 50 basis points to 2.50 percent from 2 percent.

U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended December 9, business inventories data for October and retail sales and industrial production for November will be released in the New York session.