By Lukanyo Mnyanda Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc was little changed, trading at less than 1.50 per euro for the second time since March, amid speculation the central bank has relaxed its resistance to gains in the currency as the economy recovers. The franc appreciated earlier by 0.7 percent to 1.4850 per euro, the strongest level since March 12. The Swiss National Bank began selling the currency that month to ward off deflation and bolster exports. The Swiss economy may grow between 0.5 percent and 1 percent in 2010 after shrinking about 1.5 percent this year, the central bank said on Dec. 10. “Markets have decided to find out about the SNB’s pain threshold, maybe now in the 1.49 to 1.47 area,” a team of strategists at UniCredit SpA led by Michael Rottmann in Munich wrote in a report today. “The SNB probably softened its stance on franc strength due to the pick-up in the economy.” The franc was little changed at 1.4948 per euro as of 5:15 p.m. in Zurich. Switzerland’s currency was at 1.0443 per dollar from 1.0427 on Dec. 18. Central bank President Jean-Pierre Roth, who steps down at the end of December, said on Dec. 15 that global central banks are determined to withdraw emergency measures if needed to counter inflation risks. The SNB said on Dec. 10 that it will stop purchases of corporate bonds while leaving borrowing costs close to zero. Werner Abegg, a spokesman in Zurich for the central bank, declined to comment today. To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in London at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net

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