By WSJ Staff

Switzerland's central bank cut its key interest rate for a fourth straight meeting, making an bigger-than-expected cut of 0.5 percentage point, as it seeks to rein in the strengthening franc and protect its exporters amid heightened uncertainty around global trade.

In recent trading:

-- The franc weakened against major currencies, including the dollar, the euro and the British pound.

-- Shares in Swiss luxury goods companies, such as Richemont, rallied. A weaker franc makes Swiss exports less expensive.

The Swiss National Bank cut its key rate to 0.5% from 1%, matching the half-point move by Canada's central bank Wednesday. The SNB also trimmed its inflation and growth expectations for 2025.

The franc, often seen as a haven asset, has strengthened markedly against the euro in recent years. In the past few months it has been buoyed by ECB rate cuts and political uncertainty in France and Germany.

Most investors expect the European Central Bank to make a 0.25-percentage-point reduction later Thursday, although a bigger move is possible.

A standard-size cut by the Federal Reserve next week is now viewed as a near-certainty, following as-expected consumer inflation data for November.

Read more about the SNB:

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2024 05:57 ET (10:57 GMT)

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