Global monetary policy is entering a new phase of higher interest rates to combat resurgent inflation, Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss National Bank, told Bilanz magazine in an interview. “It’s a new situation, for the first time since 2008, we’re seeing monetary policy move toward tightening in most currency areas,” Jordan told the magazine in an article published Friday. “We are getting into an unpleasant situation for monetary policy: inflation is already high worldwide and is even increasing in many countries, while at the same time economic activity is declining worldwide,” he said. The magazine said the comments hinted at a change in the ultra-expansionary course the SNB has been pursuing in recent years, which has been marked by the lowest interest rates in the world and large-scale currency interventions to contain the rise in the Swiss franc. The SNB declined to comment on the magazine’s interpretation when Reuters asked. This week, SNB board member Andrea Maechler said the central bank would not hesitate to tighten policy should inflation in Switzerland remain persistently high. In April, inflation in Switzerland was at its highest in 14 years, with prices rising by 2.5%, outside the SNB’s target range of 0-2%. Nevertheless, Swiss inflation remains much lower than the level of 8.5% in the United States and 7.4% in the eurozone. The SNB will issue its next policy update on 16 June, in which it will include the effect of higher inflation rates abroad in its assessment, Jordan told Bilanz. “We will, of course, analyze and take into account the consequences of the sharp rise in inflation in the world for Switzerland,” he said.
