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USD/CHF choppy, but set to end session at 0.9170ish lows as risk appetite deteriorates

  • USD/CHF has been choppy on Friday, but slipped back to session lows around 0.9170 in recent trade.
  • The pair is being weighed as risk appetite ends the week on the back foot, favouring haven like CHF.

It's been a choppy session but USD/CHF ultimately looks set to end the day lower by about 30 pips or just over 0.3%. The pair is currently trading at session lows in the 0.9170 area, having started the day to the north of the 0.9200 level, and is eyeing a test of this week’s lows at 0.9150. Unless USD/CHF can break below support before the NY close, which seems unlikely as volumes decline into the weekend, it seems the pair will be consigned to enter next week within the same 0.9150-0.9220ish range that has prevailed all week.

A deterioration in risk appetite over the last few hours that has seen US equities, commodities and most risk-sensitive commodities come under pressure is benefitting traditional safe-haven assets. Long-term US yields are substantially lower reflecting a bond bid that is also helping the likes of the yen and Swiss franc. Friday’s US November labour market report was mixed, with the headline NFP number missing expectations by a big margin but other aspects of the report, such as the unemployment rate, suggest the labour market continues to progress and remains tight. That, taken with more hawkish rhetoric from FOMC member James Bullard, has helped keep Fed tightening expectations for 2022 intact, so the moves being seen in bonds and FX are more to do with risk appetite.

USD/Chf

Overview
Today last price0.9171
Today Daily Change-0.0037
Today Daily Change %-0.40
Today daily open0.9208
 
Trends
Daily SMA200.9239
Daily SMA500.9231
Daily SMA1000.92
Daily SMA2000.9181
 
Levels
Previous Daily High0.9222
Previous Daily Low0.9178
Previous Weekly High0.9374
Previous Weekly Low0.9218
Previous Monthly High0.9374
Previous Monthly Low0.9088
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%0.9205
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%0.9195
Daily Pivot Point S10.9184
Daily Pivot Point S20.9159
Daily Pivot Point S30.914
Daily Pivot Point R10.9227
Daily Pivot Point R20.9246
Daily Pivot Point R30.927

Author

Joel Frank

Joel Frank

Independent Analyst

Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset

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