GBP/CHF up from 1-week low, eyes on BoE, SNB decisions

The GBP/CHF currency pair gained on Wednesday, while pulling back from a one-week trough, as investors braced for the outcome of the Bank of England’s and the Swiss National Bank’s policy meetings this week.

The Bank of England is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 4.5% at its March 20th policy meeting.

In February, the BoE delivered its third rate cut since the beginning of its monetary easing cycle in August 2024, bringing borrowing costs to their lowest level since May 2023.

All 9 members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favor of a rate cut, while 2 members favored an out-sized 50 basis point reduction.

All MPC members have agreed that policy easing would likely be gradual this year amid rising concerns over economic growth and elevated underlying services inflation.

The BoE policy decision will be preceded by UK’s employment and wage growth data for January.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank is expected to lower its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.25% at its March 20th meeting.

In December, the SNB cut its policy rate by the larger-than-expected 50 basis points to 0.5% – the fourth straight rate reduction that brought borrowing costs to their lowest level since November 2022.

The GBP/CHF currency pair was last up 0.21% on the day to trade at 1.1414. Earlier, the minor Forex pair went down as low as 1.1363, or its lowest level since March 11th.