We do not burden the banking system any more than is necessary for us to be able to steer short-term money market rates. Ladies and gentlemen, we monitor the impact of negative interest precisely, and we take the side-effects seriously. However, we remain convinced that the benefits it brings Switzerland as a whole clearly outweigh the costs. The negative interest rate and the willingness to intervene are currently the best instruments for ensuring appropriate monetary conditions and thus securing price stability and supporting the economy. Page 4/6  Berne, 12 December 2019 Thomas Jordan  News conference  Monetary policy outlook  Allow me to summarise the key messages with regard to our monetary policy. We anticipate that our economy has expanded by around 1% this year. We are expecting growth of between 1.5% and 2% next year. Inflation expectations are within the range consistent with price stability. The conditional inflation forecast for the coming quarters is slightly lower than in September, but it is essentially unchanged in the longer term. The Swiss franc remains highly valued, and the situation on the foreign exchange market is still fragile. Against this backdrop, our expansionary monetary policy remains appropriate. Monetary policy and climate change  This brings me now to the significance of climate change for the SNB. When it comes to this key issue, we are focused first and foremost on being able to properly assess the possible consequences for the functioning of economies and financial systems, both in Switzerland and worldwide.
In this way, the SNB stabilises price developments and supports economic activity. The new conditional inflation forecast for the coming quarters is slightly lower than in September. The longer-term forecast is virtually unchanged. For 2019 the forecast stands at  Page 1/6  Berne, 12 December 2019 Thomas Jordan  News conference  0.4%, for 2020 at 0.1% and for 2021 at 0.5%. The conditional inflation forecast is based on the assumption that the SNB policy rate remains at –0.75% over the entire forecast horizon. Global economic outlook  International trade tensions and political uncertainty have weighed on the global economy in recent months. Accordingly, economic growth around the world was again slightly below average in the third quarter. The increase in manufacturing output was modest in many countries, this being accompanied by subdued capital spending and lacklustre global trade in goods. Against this backdrop, employment growth in the advanced economies was slower than a few quarters ago, and unemployment fell only slightly. However, it is already very low in many countries, and is thus lending support to consumer demand. Various central banks eased their monetary policy in the autumn in light of modest inflation and the economic risks. Moreover, they signalled that they would probably leave their policy rates at a low level for an extended period of time. The SNB is maintaining its existing baseline scenario for the global economy, and expects momentum to remain modest over the short term.