Swiss National Bank Leaves Key Deposit Rate Unchanged

BERN, Switzerland--The Swiss National Bank on Thursday left its key deposit rate unchanged at -0.75%, as the central bank continues to battle a strong Swiss franc which has weakened consumer prices and poses a threat to the country's export-dependent economy.

The central bank also reiterated its longstanding assessment that the Swiss franc is "significantly overvalued" and that it will intervene in currency markets as needed. The decisions on rates and currencies were widely expected by economists.

The SNB has for many years warned that the franc is too strong. It tends to strengthen in times of global economic and political unrest as global investors pile into safe Swiss assets and Swiss residents keep their money at home.

The euro weakened slightly against the franc after Thursday's decision, falling 0.1% to 1.0881 francs.

Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 15, 2017 04:13 ET (08:13 GMT)