Gold price rise adds shine to Swiss National Bank results

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank said on Thursday it posted a first quarter profit of 6.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.08 billion), as surging gold prices compensated for stock market declines and the rising Swiss franc.

Gold was the star performer for the SNB, registering a valuation gain of 12.8 billion francs in the three months to the end of March.

The central bank holds an unchanging amount of 1,030 tonnes of gold, whose value has shot up as dimming risk sentiment pushed investors into the precious metal.

The gain compensated for a 5.3 billion franc loss the SNB from its foreign currency positions due to price losses on the stocks and bonds it holds.

The figure was also reduced by exchange-related losses of 2.3 billion francs during the period, as the Swiss franc rose versus the dollar and euro.

The result was towards the bottom end of a UBS forecast range for a first quarter profit of 5 to 15 billion francs.

UBS economist Alessandro Bee estimates the SNB has lost 50 billion francs in the value of its assets since the end of March due to a rising franc and declines in U.S. bonds and equities following President Donald Trump's tariff announcements.

"The rising price of gold is helping to offset this, but can only do so much, especially as gold is priced in dollars, which reduces the effect when converted into francs," he said.

April's losses have more than wiped out the first quarter profit and would erase most of the retained profit from last year, putting pressure on the SNB's figures, he added.

"The SNB will be hoping for a recovery in stock markets and also a decline in the franc if it wants to post a profit for 2025," said Bee.

($1 = 0.8287 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Dave Graham)