SNB foreign exchange reserves fall further

Foreign exchange reserves held by the Swiss National Bank continue to dwindle. © Keystone / Peter Schneider

The foreign exchange reserves held by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have dropped further: they stood at CHF694 billion ($780 billion) at the end of August, CHF3.7 billion less than in July, when they had fallen by CHF27.1 billion.

Total reserves (excluding gold) fell from CHF711 billion to CHF707 billion, the SNB said on its website on Thursday. Fluctuations in the figures are not unusual and often have to do with developments in the currency markets. However, they can also be the result of monetary policy manoeuvres.

+ A blessing and a curse: the strength of the Swiss franc

According to SNB statistics, the euro fell to CHF0.9582 at the end of August from CHF0.9606 at the end of July (-0.3%). During the same period, the US dollar rose to CHF0.8808 from CHF0.8707 ( 1.2%). The dollar and euro together account for almost 80% of foreign exchange reserves.

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