Swiss franc rises against euro

The Swiss franc rose considerably against the euro last month, according to new data compiled by Bloomberg.

January saw the Swiss National Bank decide to unpeg its currency against the euro. The bank was buying euros in large quantities ni the first half of January, in order to sustain its cap of 1.20 per euro on the franc. On 15th January, though, it decided to scrap its policy, saving what experts estimate would have been 100 billion francs spent on interventions.

As a result, Switzerland's holdings of foreign currency rose by just 0.7 per cent last month, from 495.1 billion francs in December to 498.4 billion francs.

The currency appreciated almost 16 per cent versus the euro, 12 per cent against the pound and 8 per cent against the US dollar.