Ladies and gentlemen
On behalf of the Governing Board, it is my pleasure as Chairman to welcome you to the SNB's news conference. After our introductory remarks, we will as usual be pleased to take any questions you may have.
Monetary policy decision
I will begin with our monetary policy decision. We have decided to leave the SNB policy rate unchanged at 0%. Banks' sight deposits held at the SNB will be remunerated at the SNB policy rate up to a certain threshold. The discount for sight deposits above this threshold still stands at 0.25 percentage points. We remain willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.
Inflation in recent months has been slightly lower than expected. In the medium term, however, inflationary pressure is virtually unchanged compared to the last monetary policy assessment. Our monetary policy helps to keep inflation within the range consistent with price stability and supports economic development. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our monetary policy if necessary, in order to ensure price stability.