Notable Historical Events affecting the EUR/CHF exchange rate
Some of the events that have historically affected the EUR/CHF exchange rate include:
The European sovereign debt crisis (2011)
The financial crash in 2008 lead to individual sovereign debt crises in the following European member states: Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland.
Investors used the Swiss Franc as a “safe haven”, and this lead to a strong appreciation of the CHF. In an attempt to curb this, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) intervened in 2011 when the exchange rate reached parity, by creating a rate floor. The Minimum exchange rate was CHF 1.20 per Euro.
The European sovereign debt crisis (2011)
The financial crash in 2008 lead to individual sovereign debt crises in the following European member states: Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland.
Investors used the Swiss Franc as a “safe haven”, and this lead to a strong appreciation of the CHF. In an attempt to curb this, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) intervened in 2011 when the exchange rate reached parity, by creating a rate floor. The Minimum exchange rate was CHF 1.20 per Euro.
The Swiss franc shock (2015)
As mentioned above, the Swiss Franc was pegged to the Euro in 2011 by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to ease appreciation. This became increasingly difficult for the SNB to maintain, especially with rumours of a new quantitative easing policy by the ECB (European Central Bank).
The Euro peg was removed by the SNB on January 15th 2015. This sent the markets into shock and the price of EUR/CHF dropped from 1.20 to around 0.85 a few minutes after the removal.
The SNB responded by decreasing already negative interest rates to -0.75% to decrease demand for the Swiss franc.
The Swiss franc shock (2015)
As mentioned above, the Swiss Franc was pegged to the Euro in 2011 by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to ease appreciation. This became increasingly difficult for the SNB to maintain, especially with rumours of a new quantitative easing policy by the ECB (European Central Bank).
The Euro peg was removed by the SNB on January 15th 2015. This sent the markets into shock and the price of EUR/CHF dropped from 1.20 to around 0.85 a few minutes after the removal.
The SNB responded by decreasing already negative interest rates to -0.75% to decrease demand for the Swiss franc.
Rising Geopolitical tensions (2022 onwards)
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine had a significant impact on global financial and energy markets, strengthening the Swiss franc due to its reputation as a safe haven.
This has only increased because of events in the Middle East, United States and elsewhere.
Suspicions from the US that the SNB is manipulating the Swiss franc, an accusation that they refute, may add pressure when they wish to intervene to stabilise the currency as they have done in the past.
A joint statement by the SNB, the Federal Department of Finance and the US Treasury Department agrees that the monetary policy set by the SNB is only done so to maintain the stability of prices.
Rising Geopolitical tensions (2022 onwards)
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine had a significant impact on global financial and energy markets, strengthening the Swiss franc due to its reputation as a safe haven.
This has only increased because of events in the Middle East, United States and elsewhere.
Suspicions from the US that the SNB is manipulating the Swiss franc, an accusation that they refute, may add pressure when they wish to intervene to stabilise the currency as they have done in the past.
A joint statement by the SNB, the Federal Department of Finance and the US Treasury Department agrees that the monetary policy set by the SNB is only done so to maintain the stability of prices.