By Daniel Huegli
Zurich, Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc fell for a third day against the euro on speculation the Swiss National Bank bought euros to stop the Swiss currency's appreciation against the European unit.
The franc fell to 1.4667 francs per euro, a one-week low, from 1.4641 on Friday. The Swiss unit rose to 1.6628 francs per dollar from 1.6668.
Speculation remained the SNB sold francs last week after the Swiss unit approached record highs against the European currency in the wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. A rising franc hurts Swiss exporters, who generate about half of the country's gross domestic product.
``It's obvious the SNB got nervous about the franc's rise,'' said Herbert Fritschi, a senior bond analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank. The Swiss central bank doesn't comment on its currency transactions.
Still, a depreciation of the franc wouldn't help much in the current environment, Niklaus Blattner, a member of the central bank's directorate, was quoted as saying in Saturday's Neue Luzerner Zeitung.
Swiss exporters are hurt mainly by slowing economic growth around the world, he said, adding that the weak euro was, however, a ``negative'' factor because European buyers had to pay more for Swiss goods, he added.
Analysts have said the central bank may cut interest rates before Dec. 7, when the three SNB governors are due to publish their final monetary policy review of the year. Most economists expect them to shave at least a quarter point off the benchmark interest rate.
The Swiss central bank two weeks ago failed to act in concert with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England when both banks lowered borrowing costs to spur economic growth.
Swiss bonds were little changed. The yield on the 10-year government bond remained at 3.11 percent.