Swiss franc surges after half-point hike from SNB

The Swiss franc CHFEUR, +1.73% surged against the euro after the Swiss National Bank joined the rate hike party. The franc rose to €0.9767 from €0.9631 on Wednesday. The central bank lifted its base rate by a half point, to negative 0.25%. It also expressed a willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary. “The tighter monetary policy is aimed at preventing inflation from spreading more broadly to goods and services in Switzerland. It cannot be ruled out that further increases in the SNB policy rate will be necessary in the foreseeable future to stabilise inflation in the range consistent with price stability over the medium term,” it said.