Swiss Bank Scraps Minimum Exchange Rate

A stunning move made by the Swiss National Bank to scrap the minimum exchange rate is likely to hurt the home economy especially in the sectors of the country's export and tourism, a government official told China Daily.

SNB surprised the world with its announcement last week to abandon its minimum exchange rate policy, which kept the euro from falling below 1.2 Swiss francs, making a 30 percent swing of euro against Swiss franc in the blink of an eye.

"The decision of the Swiss National Bank will pose challenges to the Swiss economy, especially the export industry and the tourism sector," Isabel Herkommer, media spokesperson at State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research in Switzerland, replied in an-email interview to China Daily.

"The Swiss Federal Council is now analyzing the situation without drawing hasty conclusions. But it is too early to assess possible impacts for the different branches of the Swiss Economy," it said.

That move not only sent the franc soaring against the euro and dollar, but also makes the Alpine nation already expensive for foreign visitors, even more so.

But Herkommer held a positive view on the country's long-term tourism industry by saying that tourists do not decide on their destination only based on the price level of a country.

"We are convinced that Switzerland will remain an attractive tourist destination with its vast range of scenic and cultural attractions in a compact area and its excellent infrastructure," she said.