USD/CHF consolidates near 0.97 handle, awaits US GDP for fresh impetus

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The Swiss Franc remained heavily offered through the mid-European session on Friday, with the USD/CHF pair holding with strong gains for the second consecutive session.

After a strong rally of over 200-pips in the past 24-hours, the pair has now entered a bullish consolidation phase and was seen oscillating in a narrow trading range around the 0.9700 handle. Investors preferred to remain on the sideline and await the advance release of US GDP print for fresh impetus.

• US: Focus on Q2 GDP numbers – BBH

Meanwhile, traders seemed to have largely ignored a mildly softer tone around the US Dollar and the prevalent risk-off environment, which tend to benefit the Swiss Franc's safe-haven appeal.

Looking at the broader picture, the pair is holding comfortably at one-month highs and seems all set to post strong weekly gains, reversing last week’s entire slump to the lowest level since August 2015. Hence, a follow through short-covering, leading to a fresh bullish break-out beyond the 0.9700 handle, now seems a distinct possibility.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is seen near 0.9730-35 region, above which the pair is likely to aim towards testing June monthly highs resistance near 0.9765-70 region before darting towards the 0.9800 handle.

On the flip side, any pull-back now seems to find fresh buying interest near 0.9670 horizontal level, which if broken would turn the pair vulnerable to head back towards the 0.9600 handle.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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