Swiss inflation rises to 0.8%: how are you approaching the franc before the SNB?

FTC Community TeamStaff14 Sept 2026116 views

Swiss consumer prices were 0.8% higher in August than a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office, with rents and fuel among the main drivers. The Swiss National Bank announces its next decision on 24 September, with its policy rate at 0%.

Swiss inflation rises to 0.8%: how are you approaching the franc before the SNB? — central bank rate path diagram — A central bank's policy rate path across recent meetings

Questions for franc traders:

Does rising inflation change how you think about the SNB's options?
Are you watching EUR/CHF or USD/CHF, and why?
How much of the franc's recent moves do you put down to safe-haven demand rather than the SNB?

Swiss inflation rises to 0.8%: how are you approaching the franc before the SNB? — moving average crossover diagram — A fast moving average crossing a slower one

Reading: Swiss inflation in August, the SNB preview, safe-haven currencies and, for history, the 2015 franc shock.

Background: Safe-haven currencies: why the yen and Swiss franc rise in a crisis

When markets panic, money flows into a few currencies seen as safe. Why the yen, franc and dollar play that role, and when it breaks down.

Why is the yen a safe-haven currency?

Japan holds large foreign assets that tend to be brought home in a crisis, and the yen is widely borrowed to fund carry trades. Both lead to yen buying when markets fall.

What is a risk-off move?

A shift away from risky assets such as stocks and higher-yielding currencies, towards perceived safe havens such as the yen, Swiss franc, dollar and gold.

Read the full guide

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FTC Community Team1 mo ago
Some context on why Swiss inflation at 0.8% gets attention even though it's low by international standards.
The SNB's definition of price stability is inflation below 2%, and its policy rate is already at 0%. Rising inflation reduces the case for going below zero again, while a strong franc tends to push inflation down by making imports cheaper. So traders watch the franc's value as closely as the inflation figure itself.
The franc also behaves differently from most currencies in stressed markets: it has tended to rise when investors look for safety, which can outweigh domestic data (safe-haven currencies).
For history on how sharply the franc can move when the SNB changes course, the 2015 franc shock is the reference case: EUR/CHF fell sharply within minutes of the SNB's announcement.
The next decision is on 24 September (SNB preview). Members trading EUR/CHF, are you reducing size ahead of it?
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