ZURICH (Dec 31): The Swiss National Bank (SNB) bought 728 million Swiss francs (US$806.20 million, or RM3.6 billion) of foreign currencies in the third quarter of 2024, up from 103 million francs in the previous three-month period, data from the central bank showed on Tuesday.

The franc strengthened considerably in the third quarter, but has since weakened as the SNB continued cutting interest rates, most recently by a reduction of 50 basis points.

The SNB buying foreign currencies can help weaken the franc, whose appreciation makes the export of goods from Switzerland dearer. Selling foreign currencies can do the opposite.

Last year, the Swiss central bank was much more active in the forex markets. In the third quarter of 2023, it sold 37.6 billion francs worth of forex, as it sought to strengthen the currency to reduce the impact of imported inflation.

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