Swiss Franc trims gains as high Oil prices erode its safe-haven status
- USD/CHF hits session highs at 0.8230 after bouncing from 0.8193 lows earlier this month.
- The US Dollar trims losses but remains on track for its third consecutive weekly decline.
- Higher Oil prices are weighing on the Swissie, which shone this week in risk-off markets.
The Swiss Franc (CHF) is giving away gains against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, weighed by concerns about the Swiss economy's exposure to the higher Oil prices. The USD/CHF pair has returned to levels above 0.8220, retracing Thursday's losses but remains on track for a 0.3% weekly loss and a nearly 1% decline over the last three weeks.
Oil prices are posing a significant weight on the Swiss Franc on Friday. Brent crude has appreciated to nearly six-month highs at $113.50 per barrel, nearly 20% up in October.
News reporting of more attacks on vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, and ongoing attacks from Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabian airports and Oil infrastructure have resurfaced fears about supply distortions, pushing prices near their highest levels since the Middle East conflict started.
Swiss Franc regains its safe-haven status
The Swissie, however, has emerged as a safe haven amid concerns of an AI bubble and turmoil in bond markets over the last few weeks, which is keeping a floor on CHF dips so far. The US Dollar has been struggling this week as concerns about the AI sector's profitability, following a string of downbeat results from tech companies, spooked investors away from equity markets, pushing them to seek refuge in the safety of US Government bonds.
The yield of the US 10-year Treasury note has lost more than 30 basis points in October, posing a significant headwind to US Dollar rallies.
Looking ahead, analysts at ING warn that “resurgent AI-related jitters and the upcoming US midterms are increasing downside risks for the Dollar,” even as they stress that a “still-hawkish Fed” is likely to provide an important counterbalance to any deeper Dollar sell-off.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.08% | -0.16% | -0.31% | -0.14% | 0.06% | -0.05% | -0.17% | |
| EUR | -0.08% | -0.25% | -0.40% | -0.21% | -0.01% | -0.13% | -0.26% | |
| GBP | 0.16% | 0.25% | -0.17% | 0.04% | 0.24% | 0.12% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | 0.31% | 0.40% | 0.17% | 0.20% | 0.39% | 0.28% | 0.15% | |
| CAD | 0.14% | 0.21% | -0.04% | -0.20% | 0.19% | 0.08% | -0.05% | |
| AUD | -0.06% | 0.01% | -0.24% | -0.39% | -0.19% | -0.11% | -0.23% | |
| NZD | 0.05% | 0.13% | -0.12% | -0.28% | -0.08% | 0.11% | -0.12% | |
| CHF | 0.17% | 0.26% | 0.00% | -0.15% | 0.05% | 0.23% | 0.12% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Guillermo Alcala
FXStreet
Graduated in Communication Sciences at the Universidad del Pais Vasco and Universiteit van Amsterdam, Guillermo has been working as financial news editor and copywriter in diverse Forex-related firms, like FXStreet and Kantox.
