USD/CHF stays firmer above 0.9250 on steady USD, SNB eyed

The USD/CHF pair treads water on Thursday in the Asian session. After posting gains in the overnight session, the pair hovered in a very narrow trade band with no meaningful traction. At the time of writing, USD/CHF is trading at 0.9261, up 0.01% for the day.

The buying pressure in the greenback keeps USD/CHF on the higher side. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the performance of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies, stays strong above 93.40 for the first time in the past four-week. Investors digested the latest Fed’s statement. 

The US Federal Reserve kept its short term key rates unchanged in the range of 0% to 0.25% on Wednesday and said a “moderation” in asset purchasing would happen for further economic progress. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) signalled a reduction in its $120 billion monthly bond purchase this year. In addition to that, US Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted that tapering could occur as soon as in November or end in mid-2022. 

Furthermore, the FOMC economic projection painted a rosy picture about the economy as the Fed hiked its interest-rate outlook to 1% and 1.8% in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The economy is expected to expand by 3.8% and 2.5% in 2023 and 2024 as compared to the previous 3.3% and 2.4% projections respectively.

It is worth noting that, S&P 500 Futures is trading at 4,392.25, up 0.19% gains.

On the other hand, the Swiss franc pares its previous gains on improved risk sentiment. On the economic data side, Switzerland's Current Account expanded to CHF 10.51 on a quarterly basis as compared to CHF 3.21 billion. As for now, traders wait for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) interest rate decision, US Initial Jobless Claims, and Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index( PMI)  to gain fresh trading impetus.

USD/CHF additional levels