USD/CHF loses momentum before reaching parity, steadies around 0.9970

The USD/CHF pair, which added more than 100 pips last week, was able to build on its bullish momentum and touch a fresh 5-week high at 0.9988 during the first half of the day on Monday before going into a consolidation phase. As of writing, the pair was up 0.16% on a daily basis at 0.9973.

Earlier in the day, the broad-based USD strength provided the primary fuel to the pair. Despite a lack of significant macroeconomic data releases, the greenback started the week on a positive note as European currencies continue to have a difficult time staging a decisive recovery amid ongoing political concerns in the UK and fears of European economy slowing down in 2019. In fact, the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook Update lowered its euro area growth forecast to 1.6% from 1.9% announced in October.

Meanwhile, with the trading volume thinning out due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the U.S., it seems like the pair struggles to find enough interest to test the critical parity mark. 

In the remainder of the week, market sentiment could act as the primary driver of the pair's price action as the U.S. economic docket won't be offering any high-tier data.