(Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank sees a "small upward risk" to the central bank's inflation forecast, its Chairman Thomas Jordan said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Bank of Korea International Conference in Seoul, the central banker said there are currently reasons to believe that the natural rate of interest - a key indicator for monetary policy decisions - has increased somewhat, or might rise over the coming years.
"We view this as a small upward risk to the inflation forecast," Jordan said. "If this risk were to materialise, our monetary policy stance would be more accommodative than intended."
He said that since inflation can fluctuate within the range of price stability, the current monetary policy would likely remain compatible, even if the natural rate of interest was slightly higher.
Jordan said if upward risks to inflation were to materialise, this would most likely be associated with a weaker Swiss franc, which could be counteracted by selling foreign exchange.
(Reporting by Zurich Newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra)
