More and Clearer on SNB

The earlier estimate of SNB intervention was derived from last week's data that showed that its euro holdings rose by 32 billon euros in Q2 after a 20.26 billion euro increase in Q1. Dollar holdings rose to almost $20 billon from $13.2 billion. Of course the full increase might not reflect only intervention as there may be a valuation component as well. The real point was to take a quick look at how effective the intervention has been, not so much to have the final word on the size of the operations. The other important points include:

• SNB thinking the intervention has been successful

• They will continue to intervene (if needed) The direct market impact has been minimal.