MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova – The strong Swiss franc has become a contentious issue as the country heads for parliamentary election on October 18.
“It is clearly not a good thing to have very strong money, especially for a country like Switzerland, that exports very much,” Luc Recordon said, adding that the Swiss economy “has really suffered [from] the high prices of Swiss goods.”
The Swiss franc soared after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said in January that it would no longer hold the franc at a fixed exchange rate with the euro. A minimum exchange rate for the franc against the euro (1.20 franc per euro) was introduced in 2011 amid the eurozone crisis.
“The way our Central Bank blocked the low euro was really clever, but costs too much,” Recordon said.
The stronger franc hit demand for Swiss goods in Europe and in China, diminishing Swiss exports. According to the customs office, exports dropped 4.5 percent in August against the previous year.
