The Swiss National Bank adheres to its commitment not to manipulate the exchange rate and will not intervene in the foreign exchange market in the fourth quarter of 2025.

After promising the United States not to guide the Swiss franc exchange rate for economic advantage, the Swiss National Bank barely intervened in the foreign exchange market in the last three months of 2025. According to the annual report released by the Swiss National Bank on Tuesday, the central bank purchased a total of 5.2 billion Swiss francs (about 6.6 billion US dollars) worth of foreign exchange in 2025. Although the report did not detail the data for each quarter, the Swiss National Bank's intervention scale in the first nine months of 2025 reached 5.182 billion Swiss francs, which means that the central bank did not conduct large-scale foreign exchange operations in the last three months of 2025. The Swiss franc sales in 2025 mainly occurred in the second quarter when the Swiss National Bank took action to counter the surge in the Swiss franc caused by the announcement of large-scale tariff increases by US President Trump on so-called "Liberation Day" in early April. By purchasing assets denominated in foreign currency, central banks can lower the exchange rate of their domestic currency. Swiss authorities have used this mechanism in the past to suppress the appreciation of the Swiss franc. However, this also caused the Swiss National Bank's balance sheet to grow to a level that some observers believe poses risks, as it could bring huge profits or significant losses. On September 29th of last year, the Swiss National Bank and the US Department of the Treasury issued a joint statement pledging to focus monetary policy on price stability. The document was the result of ongoing dialogue between officials of the two countries, which intensified after the United States placed Switzerland on the currency manipulation watchlist. In its annual report released on Tuesday, the Swiss National Bank emphasized: "The joint statement confirms that foreign exchange market intervention is an important monetary policy tool for the Swiss National Bank to achieve its price stability mandate." The Swiss National Bank's past interventions had led Switzerland to be labeled a "currency manipulator" during Trump's first term, but this label was later removed. Swiss National Bank President Martin Schlegel stated that this classification threat would not prevent the institution from guiding the exchange rate when necessary. In the fourth quarter of last year, the Swiss franc slightly appreciated against the euro. This year, as investors seek safe-haven assets amid geopolitical turmoil, the Swiss franc has risen to a ten-year high, benefiting from Switzerland's low debt levels, stable economy, and predictable policy environment. This week, Swiss National Bank policymakers will hold their first policy meeting of the year on Thursday, with the central bank's stance on curbing the appreciation of the Swiss franc becoming a focal point of market attention. The Swiss franc's trajectory is a focus for the Swiss National Bank, as an appreciation of the Swiss franc could further suppress inflation by lowering import costs. While any changes in the Swiss National Bank's foreign exchange policy language will be closely watched, economists unanimously predict that the central bank will maintain its benchmark interest rate at zero on Thursday. Facing the situation in the Middle East, Swiss officials have broken their usual silence, indicating an increased willingness to intervene in the currency market. Since the central bank only publishes data with a three-month lag, statistics reflecting whether they continued to purchase foreign exchange in the first quarter of this year will be released in June.