USD/CHF refreshes over-a-decade low near 0.8030 on USD’s continued underperformance
- USD/CHF slides to near 0.8035 as the US Dollar continues to decline after Israel-Iran ceasefire.
- Fed’s Powell stated that the central bank needs time to learn the impact of tariffs on inflation and growth.
- The SNB pushed interest rates to zero in the monetary policy announcement last week.
The USD/CHF pair posts a fresh over-a-decade low near 0.8034 during Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The Swiss Franc pair faces a sharp selling pressure as the US Dollar (USD) continues to underperform its peers after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, seems vulnerable near the weekly low around 98.00.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.02% | 0.00% | 0.07% | 0.15% | -0.05% | -0.37% | -0.03% | |
| EUR | 0.02% | 0.05% | 0.10% | 0.15% | -0.06% | -0.35% | -0.01% | |
| GBP | -0.00% | -0.05% | 0.06% | 0.12% | -0.08% | -0.40% | -0.03% | |
| JPY | -0.07% | -0.10% | -0.06% | 0.01% | -0.12% | -0.42% | -0.08% | |
| CAD | -0.15% | -0.15% | -0.12% | -0.01% | -0.14% | -0.39% | -0.15% | |
| AUD | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.08% | 0.12% | 0.14% | -0.37% | 0.05% | |
| NZD | 0.37% | 0.35% | 0.40% | 0.42% | 0.39% | 0.37% | 0.37% | |
| CHF | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.08% | 0.15% | -0.05% | -0.37% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran has diminished the safe-haven demand of the US Dollar. On Monday, the US Dollar gained sharply after the United States (US) joined Israel’s assault on Iran and destroyed three nuclear sites of Tehran.
On the monetary policy front, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell has reiterated that monetary policy adjustments are not appropriate at the current time as the labor market is still solid and the central bank needs more time to assess the impact of the tariff policy on inflation.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Franc (CHF) outperforms its peersm except antipodeans, ahead of the release of ZEW Survey - Expectations for June at 08:00 GMT. In May, the sentiment data improved significantly to -22 from -51.6 in April as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been lowering interest rates consistently.
In the last week's monetary policy announcement, the SNB lowered interest rates to 0%, aiming to prompt inflation. SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel left the door opened for negative interest rates. "We [SNB] are now on the verge of negative interest rate territory," Schlegel said.
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.
Author
Sagar Dua
FXStreet
Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.
