- USD/CHF refreshes a five-month high of around 0.8970 as the US Dollar performs strongly, with the Fed policy in focus.
- The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps to 4.25%-4.50%.
- Investors expect the SNB to cut interest rates further as risks of inflation undershooting SNB’s target have escalated.
The USD/CHF pair stretches its winning spell for the eighth trading day on Tuesday. The Swiss Franc pair posts a fresh five-month high around 0.8970 as the Swiss Franc (CHF) remains weak across the board on expectations that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) could continue loosening its monetary policy to avoid risks of inflation undershooting the central bank’s target.
Last week, the SNB surprisingly reduced interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) to 0.5%, while investors expected a 25-bps interest rate reduction.
This week, investors will focus on the Q4 SNB Bulletin report, which includes the ‘Monetary policy report’ and the report on ‘Business cycle trends’.
Meanwhile, the outperformance of the US Dollar (USD) has also strengthened the Swiss Franc pair. The US Dollar Index (DXY) climbs to near 107.00 ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision, which will be announced on Wednesday. According to the Bloomberg survey, the Fed will cut its key borrowing rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50% but will deliver slightly hawkish remarks on the monetary policy outlook.
USD/CHF appears confident to deliver a decisive break above the supply zone, which is plotted in a range of 0.8925-0.8950 on a daily timeframe. The upward-sloping 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 0.8856 suggests that the trend is bullish.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) oscillates in the bullish range of 60.00-80.00, indicating a strong upside momentum.
After breaking above the intraday high of 0.8975, the asset could rise to near the psychological resistance of 0.9000 and the July 2 high of 0.9050.
In an alternate scenario, a downside move below the round-level support of 0.8700 could drag the asset toward the October 23 low of 0.8650, followed by the November low of 0.8616.
USD/CHF daily chart
Swiss Franc FAQs
The Swiss Franc (CHF) is Switzerland’s official currency. It is among the top ten most traded currencies globally, reaching volumes that well exceed the size of the Swiss economy. Its value is determined by the broad market sentiment, the country’s economic health or action taken by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), among other factors. Between 2011 and 2015, the Swiss Franc was pegged to the Euro (EUR). The peg was abruptly removed, resulting in a more than 20% increase in the Franc’s value, causing a turmoil in markets. Even though the peg isn’t in force anymore, CHF fortunes tend to be highly correlated with the Euro ones due to the high dependency of the Swiss economy on the neighboring Eurozone.
The Swiss Franc (CHF) is considered a safe-haven asset, or a currency that investors tend to buy in times of market stress. This is due to the perceived status of Switzerland in the world: a stable economy, a strong export sector, big central bank reserves or a longstanding political stance towards neutrality in global conflicts make the country’s currency a good choice for investors fleeing from risks. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen CHF value against other currencies that are seen as more risky to invest in.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) meets four times a year – once every quarter, less than other major central banks – to decide on monetary policy. The bank aims for an annual inflation rate of less than 2%. When inflation is above target or forecasted to be above target in the foreseeable future, the bank will attempt to tame price growth by raising its policy rate. Higher interest rates are generally positive for the Swiss Franc (CHF) as they lead to higher yields, making the country a more attractive place for investors. On the contrary, lower interest rates tend to weaken CHF.
Macroeconomic data releases in Switzerland are key to assessing the state of the economy and can impact the Swiss Franc’s (CHF) valuation. The Swiss economy is broadly stable, but any sudden change in economic growth, inflation, current account or the central bank’s currency reserves have the potential to trigger moves in CHF. Generally, high economic growth, low unemployment and high confidence are good for CHF. Conversely, if economic data points to weakening momentum, CHF is likely to depreciate.
As a small and open economy, Switzerland is heavily dependent on the health of the neighboring Eurozone economies. The broader European Union is Switzerland’s main economic partner and a key political ally, so macroeconomic and monetary policy stability in the Eurozone is essential for Switzerland and, thus, for the Swiss Franc (CHF). With such dependency, some models suggest that the correlation between the fortunes of the Euro (EUR) and the CHF is more than 90%, or close to perfect.
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