Swiss central bank sticks to negative rates ahead of French election

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank stuck to its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday, as it awaits the outcome of elections across Europe which could trigger an upsurge in demand for the safe-haven Swiss franc should nationalists perform well.

The central bank kept its target range for three-month Swiss franc Libor at -1.25 percent to -0.25 percent while it kept the rate it charges on sight deposits at -0.75 percent, as expected in a Reuters poll of economists. [nL5N1GN4SF]

The SNB said it remained committed to negative interest rates and currency interventions to rein in the Swiss franc, which it said remained "significantly overvalued".

 

(Reporting by John Revill)