Swiss central bank chief forecasts more interest rate hikes

Further increases in Swiss interest rates are likely even though inflation is expected to remain below two percent next year, Switzerland's central bank chief Jean-Pierre Roth signalled Sunday.
"We are following a strategy of gradual interest rate rises and we maintain that," the chairman of the Swiss National Bank told the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
The bank last raised the range of its key Libor rate on June 15, to 1.0 - 2.0 percent, the fifth increase since June 2004.
It did not follow other major European central banks that increased their rates on August 3. The US Federal Reserve left its key rate unchanged on August 8, marking a pause for the first time since June 2004.
"For this year we foresee an inflation rate below two percent, and that's also valid for next year," Roth said.