SNB May Raise Inflation Forecast

While it’s set to maintain monetary policy on Thursday, the Swiss National Bank might revise up its 2017 inflation forecast as higher energy costs boost headline price pressures, Bloomberg reported. Switzerland’s annual rate hasn’t been positive since 2011, and the SNB’s most recent projection is for a rise in consumer prices of just 0.1% this year. Swiss consumer prices rose at the fastest monthly rate in nearly five years in February and look set to rise for the full year this year for the first time since 2010, giving the central bank a headache as it strives to keep the Swiss franc weak. Prices rose 0.5% in February from January and were up 0.6% year on year, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday. Prices have registered annual growth in only a handful of months over the last few years, but analysts expect the long run of full-year deflation or price stagnation to come to an end this year as higher oil prices leave their mark and the impact of the strong Swiss franc fades.