Switzerland is also continuing to struggle with high inflation. The Swiss central bank is expected to once again raise interest rates to temper the rising consumer prices, says central bank president Thomas Jordan. The current monetary policy may “not be tight enough” to anchor price stability, Jordan says in an interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF. Last week, the bank increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point – the fifth consecutive hike. By making borrowing more expensive, the bank aims to dampen demand in the economy and thus curb inflation. In contrast to Switzerland, Spain appears to be heading in the right direction with price developments. Minister of Economic Affairs Nadia Calviño stated on Saturday that further interest rate hikes are no longer necessary. According to her, the increase in consumer prices is rapidly decreasing towards the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target of 2 percent. Spanish inflation has now dropped to approximately 3 percent. The ECB raised interest rates last week to the highest level in over two decades. Joachim Nagel, the president of the German central bank, has said that the ECB may also need to further increase interest rates after the summer to address inflation in the eurozone.
