USD/CHF extends post-SNB decline, risks breaking below 0.9900 handle
|- SNB’s decision to maintain status-quo prompts some aggressive long-unwinding trade.
- Some renewed USD selling bias fails to lend any support or stall the steep intraday slide.
The USD/CHF pair extended the post-SNB sharp intraday pullback and has now moved on the verge of breaking below the 0.9900 round figure mark.
The pair failed to capitalize on the previous session's positive move to three-month tops, touched in the aftermath of a hawkish rate cut by the Fed, and witnessed a dramatic intraday turnaround on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced its latest monetary policy decision.
Traders opt to unwind long positions post-SNB
The SNB kept its sight deposit rate unchanged at -0.75% and also lowered its inflation/GDP forecasts for 2019 but refrained to follow the ECB and the Fed by cutting rates, which seemed to be the only factor that prompted some aggressive long-unwinding trade on Thursday.
Adding to this, the prevalent cautious mood, amid fears of a further escalation of geopolitical tension in the Middle East, provided an additional boost to the Swiss Franc's relative safe-haven status and collaborated to the pair's sharp intraday fall of over 80 pips.
Meanwhile, some renewed US Dollar selling bias, possibly on the back of a weaker tone surrounding the US Treasury bond yields, did little to inspire bullish traders or stall the pair's ongoing steep decline to three-day lows ahead of second-tier US economic releases.
Thursday's US economic docket features the release of usual initial weekly jobless claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which influence the USD price dynamics and contribute towards producing some short-term trading opportunities during the early North-American session.
Technical levels to watch
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