SNB raises rates in shock move, ready for more
BoE nudges rates up again; says ready to act forcefully

NEW YORK, June 16 Reuters The Swiss franc soared against the dollar and the euro on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank delivered a surprise interest rate hike, while the British pound rose after the Bank of England delivered a rate hike of its own.

The SNB joined other central banks in tightening monetary policy in its first rate hike in 15 years, increasing its policy rate to 0.25 from the 0.75 it has deployed since 2015.

The move put the Swiss franc on pace for its largest daily jump against the euro since the SNB ditched its currency peg in 2015, with the common currency slipping 2.2 to 1.01555 francs, a 2month low.

The U.S. dollar tumbled 2.4 against the franc, on pace for its largest 1day drop in about 612 years.

The SNB move comes as a big shock, said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy, at Rabobank in London.

Most analysts had expected the SNB to hold rates on Thursday and flag a hike for September, although a couple of banks had predicted a 25 bps move.

Talk had been building that the SNB could start to move away from their deeply negative position on rates under the cover of the more hawkish ECB, but todays 50 bps move is still a big surprise.

In a volatile day for the pound, it initially dropped after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 25 basis points, confounding forecasts by some market participants of a bigger hike to fight soaring…