Swiss National Bank chief says inflation not yet defeated, rate rise may be needed

A further rise in interest rates cannot be ruled out when the Swiss National Bank next meets to discuss policy on December 14, SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.

"We cannot yet declare inflation to be defeated," Jordan told the paper.

Although inflation in Switzerland is currently under the central bank's 2 per cent target, Jordan said uncertainty about its future path is high.

"In this uncertain environment, we are monitoring further developments very closely and will decide at the December assessment whether monetary policy needs to be tightened further," he said.

At its last quarterly assessment in September, the SNB held its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent but said a further tightening could not be ruled out.