The Swiss franc was flat today against the US dollar and fell versus the Japanese yen after the Swiss National Bank maintained its main Libor interest rate and reiterated the pledge to keep the cap on the currency.

The SNB kept its benchmark interest rate near zero. Thomas Jordan, the Vice Chairman of the Governing Board, repeated his pledge to keep the currency cap at 1.20 francs per euro. He said:

Even at the current rate, the Swiss franc is still high. Another appreciation would have a serious impact on both prices and the economy in Switzerland. The SNB will not tolerate this.

Jordan also stated that the crisis in Europe is a major threat to the Swiss economy.

USD/CHF was near its opening level of 0.9557 as of 12:08 GMT today, while CHF/JPY fell from 83.06 to 82.89.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Swiss Franc, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.