Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central bank of Switzerland.Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central bank of Switzerland.

The Swiss National Bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Thursday, ending an era of negative rates in Europe.

It was the first rate rise in 15 years on June 16. The Swiss central bank had kept its rates steady.

Inflation in Switzerland hit a three-decade high last month.

The bank said raising the policy rate was countering inflationary pressure and the spread of inflation to goods and services that have not been affected.

Further rate increases can't be ruled out.

The hike is in line with the expectations of the economists.

The Swiss Franc fell against the dollar and euro. There is a meeting at 9:00 a.m. The dollar and euro were both higher against the Swiss currency.

After hitting its strongest level against the euro in more than a year, economists started to speculate about the likelihood of a 75 basis point increase.

The last country in Europe to have a negative policy rate was Switzerland.

The Bank of Japan kept its interest rates on hold at -0.1% on Thursday, making it the last major economy with a negative central bank.

The central bank raised its benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage points on September 8.

A recession is coming but it's likely to be mild, analyst says

Sweden's central bank increased its interest rate on September 20. The Riksbank warned thatinflation is too high.

When the European Central Bank raised rates, they moved above zero.

The most recent 75-basis-point hike by the European Central Bank won't be as steep as previous ones, according to a member of the governing council.