SNB: sight deposits jumped another time

8 years ago - Published in Finance, Fundamental Analysis

The amount of cash kept with the Swiss central bank jumped last week, data on Monday showed, suggesting it intervened to weaken a franc currency buoyed by political risks in France and renewed worries about Greece's public finances.

Since Donald Trump's surprise U.S. presidential election victory on November 18, the 4.458 billion franc increase in sight deposits was the biggest sight deposits – cash that commercial banks hold with the Swiss National Bank, and seen as a guide to its currency market interventions – rose to 543.458 billion Swiss francs ($541.62 billion) from 539 billion francs a week earlier.

An increase in sight deposits suggests the SNB has been actively selling francs to weaken the currency. Sight deposits have risen steadily this year while the franc has risen 0.8 percent. Economists consider the data an indicator for the central bank’s interventions to curb the strength of the franc.
The SNB declined to comment on Monday's data.