SNB's Schlegel says that inflation pressure is slightly higher than in June

Remarks of this kind from the SNB chair sit in a narrow band: acknowledging slightly higher inflation pressure while characterising it as marginal is the vocabulary of a central bank holding course rather than pivoting, and historically such formulations from this institution have preceded no change at the next meeting more often than they have signalled one. The channel is the policy rate and, secondarily, the franc: the SNB has a long record of letting the exchange rate carry part of the tightening or easing burden, so the distinction worth drawing is whether firmer inflation language is aimed at the rate path or at dampening CHF strength, which has repeatedly functioned as the bank's de facto instrument when inflation ran below target. A chair's interim commentary between quarterly decisions has tended to move the front of the Swiss curve only modestly unless it departs from the published assessment; 'slightly higher than in June' reads as an update against the last forecast round rather than a revision of it. The follow-ons are the next official inflation prints and any commentary from other governing board members, since SNB messaging is typically coordinated and a lone remark rarely survives contact with the collective line. Whether the tone is echoed or softened by colleagues is the tell.