The governor of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, said that currently the Central Bank does not see signs of an approaching recession, but such a possibility should not be ruled out.
"According to current forecasts, Switzerland's gross domestic product will increase by 2% by the end of 2022," Jordan said.
Yesterday, the Swiss National Bank increased the interest rate by 75 basis points, to 0.5%. This step followed a 0.5% rate hike at the June meeting. Thus, the Central Bank ended the era of negative rates, which lasted from mid-December 2014. The tightening of monetary policy is taking place against the backdrop of the highest inflation in 30 years - in August, the consumer price index rose by 3.5% per annum.
"As for 2023, we expect a deterioration in economic prospects, given a number of risks, namely another sharp increase in the cost of energy, an economic downturn abroad or a surge in cases of coronavirus. If all these risks are realized, the probability will increase that the world economy, and hence the Swiss economy, may slip into recession," - Jordan warned.