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USD/CHF flirts with two-year high near 1.0050, bulls seem reluctant amid weaker USD

  • USD/CHF regained positive traction on Monday and shot to a fresh two-year high.
  • A softer risk tone underpinned the safe-haven CHF and capped amid weaker USD.
  • Sliding US bond yields, disappointing US macro data exerted pressure on the buck.

The USD/CHF pair retreated a few pips from a two-year peak touched during the early North American session and was last seen trading around the 1.0050 area, still up nearly 0.20% for the day.

Following Friday's brief pause, the USD/CHF pair attracted fresh buying on the first day of a new week and is now looking to build on its upward trajectory witnessed over the past one-and-half months or so. That said, a combination of factors held back bulls from placing aggressive bets and kept a lid on any meaningful upside for spot prices.

Investors remain worried that a more aggressive move by major central banks to constrain inflation could hit global economic growth amid the war in Ukraine and China's zero-COVID-19 policy. The concerns were further fueled by weaker Chinese macro data, which weighed on investors' sentiment and extended some support to the safe-haven Swiss franc.

Conversely, the US dollar was pressured by a softer tone around the US Treasury bond yields. This was seen as another factor that acted as a headwind for the USD/CHF pair. The USD remained on the defensive following the disappointing release of the Empire State Manufacturing Index, which indicated worsening conditions and unexpectedly plunged to -11.6 in May.

That said, expectations that the Fed will tighten its monetary policy at a faster pace to curb soaring inflation should help limit losses for the buck and lend support to the USD/CHF pair. The fundamental backdrop favours bullish traders, suggesting that any meaningful pullback might be seen as a buying opportunity and remain limited, at least for now.

The market focus now shifts to the release of the US Retail Sales figures on Tuesday. Investors will also scrutinize remarks by several FOMC officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, for clues about the possibility of a 75 bps rate hike. This would influence the USD price dynamics and determine the next leg of a directional move for the USD/CHF pair.

Technical levels to watch

USD/CHF

Overview
Today last price1.0048
Today Daily Change0.0026
Today Daily Change %0.26
Today daily open1.0022
 
Trends
Daily SMA200.9742
Daily SMA500.9491
Daily SMA1000.9346
Daily SMA2000.928
 
Levels
Previous Daily High1.0047
Previous Daily Low0.9992
Previous Weekly High1.0049
Previous Weekly Low0.9872
Previous Monthly High0.9759
Previous Monthly Low0.9221
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%1.0013
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%1.0026
Daily Pivot Point S10.9994
Daily Pivot Point S20.9966
Daily Pivot Point S30.9939
Daily Pivot Point R11.0049
Daily Pivot Point R21.0075
Daily Pivot Point R31.0104

Author

Haresh Menghani

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

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