Market News

By John Revill

ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss National Bank saw no need to lower interest rates at its last monetary policy decision, according to minutes published on Thursday, although it raised concerns about the risk of U.S. tariffs extending to the pharmaceutical industry.

The SNB kept its interest rate at 0% last month despite a weaker economic outlook, it said in the minutes, the first time it had published details of its monetary policy discussions.

The expansionary policy was supporting the economy, with the full impact of previous rate cuts yet to be felt, the SNB said, adding it saw inflation remaining within its 0-2% target range.

"The inflation forecast and the economic outlook support the case for not changing monetary policy," the minutes of its September 25 rate decision said.

Analysts said the minutes indicated the SNB was not considering reintroducing negative borrowing costs.

"In the absence of major shocks, it is highly likely that the current status quo of a 0% policy rate remains the most likely scenario," said Gero Jung, head of investment strategy at Walliser Kantonalbank.

UBS economist Maxime Botteron said in the SNB's assessment, monetary policy is currently sufficiently expansionary to slightly lift inflation over the coming quarters.

The SNB's decision to publish minutes was a move by the conservative central bank to catch up with peers who have been more transparent on how they set monetary policy.

The SNB flagged the risks of U.S. tariffs, particularly if they extended to pharmaceuticals, which have so far been exempt. The U.S. imposed 39% tariffs on Swiss goods in August.

"At present, there are hardly any signs of the negative effects of the tariffs spreading from the export-oriented industries affected to other parts of the economy," the SNB said.

(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Dave Graham)