Swiss National Bank Maintains Policy Rate at 0%
Amid Modest Inflation and Global Economic Risks
Zurich, Switzerland – December 11, 2025
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced on December 11, 2025, that it is leaving the SNB policy rate unchanged at 0%. This decision is part of the SNB’s efforts to keep inflation within the range consistent with price stability and to support overall economic development.
Monetary Policy Stance
The SNB confirmed that banks’ sight deposits held at the SNB will be remunerated at the SNB policy rate (0%) up to a certain threshold. For sight deposits exceeding that threshold, the discount remains fixed at 0.25 percentage points. Furthermore, the SNB reiterated its commitment to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.
Inflation Assessment and Forecast
Recent inflation data showed a slight decrease since the last monetary policy assessment, tracking slightly lower than previously expected. Inflation dropped from 0.2% in August to 0.0% in November. This decline was notably driven by lower inflation in clothing, rents, and the hotel industry.
While short-term expectations are somewhat lower than in September, the SNB noted that medium-term inflationary pressure is virtually unchanged. The monetary policy helps ensure price stability. The conditional inflation forecast, which assumes the SNB policy rate stays at 0% over the entire forecast horizon, is projected to be within the range of price stability. The SNB’s average annual inflation forecasts are:
2025: 0.2%
2026: 0.3%
2027: 0.6%
Swiss Economic Outlook
Switzerland experienced a contraction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the third quarter. This decline was largely attributable to a countermovement in the pharmaceuticals industry. This sector had seen a strong increase in value added in the first quarter due to deliveries being brought forward in anticipation of potential tariffs to the US, followed by a continuation of the countermovement into the third quarter. Meanwhile, value added increased slightly in services and in other manufacturing sectors. Owing to this subdued overall development, unemployment has increased further in recent months.
The economic outlook for Switzerland has improved slightly, primarily due to somewhat better global development and lower US tariffs. The SNB projects GDP growth of just under 1.5% for 2025 as a whole, followed by growth of around 1% for 2026. Given this environment, unemployment is expected to continue to rise somewhat. The main risk to Switzerland’s economic outlook remains the development of the global economy.
Global Economic Developments
Global economic growth in the third quarter was stronger than anticipated. Although US tariffs and trade policy uncertainty have been weighing on the global economy, development in many countries has proven more resilient than assumed. Regarding inflation abroad, the US saw inflation remain elevated, while the euro area’s inflation was close to target.
The SNB’s baseline scenario for the global economy anticipates moderate growth in the coming quarters. Inflation in the US is likely to remain elevated, while inflation in the euro area is expected to stay close to target.
Although uncertainty has decreased somewhat since the previous assessment, the baseline scenario still faces significant risks. These risks include the possibility that trade policy uncertainty and US tariffs could weigh more heavily on global momentum than currently observed, or that trade barriers might be raised again. Conversely, there is also a possibility that the global economy could continue to perform better than expected in the coming quarters.