USD/CHF trades flat as US labor data disappoints, SNB remains vigilant
- The US Dollar lacks direction after a sharp disappointment in US private employment.
- Investors digest weaker US data ahead of the next key economic releases.
- The Swiss National Bank remains cautious about risks to price stability.
USD/CHF trades without a clear trend around 0.7750 on Wednesday at the time of writing, showing an almost unchanged performance on the day. The pair remains trapped in a narrow range as the US Dollar (USD) struggles to find a clear catalyst following the release of mixed US macroeconomic data.
The release of the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Employment Change report showed that US private sector payrolls rose by only 22,000 jobs in January, well below market expectations of 48,000. This reading confirms a gradual slowdown in US labor market momentum, even though annual wage growth remains steady at 4.5%.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the US Dollar’s performance against a basket of six major currencies, trades without a clear direction as investors reassess their expectations for monetary policy. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets continue to expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to leave interest rates unchanged at the March meeting, within the 3.50%-3.75% range, but weaker employment data may revive debate about the future policy outlook.
On the Swiss side, the Swiss Franc (CHF) shows mixed performance. Investors remain focused on the outlook for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in an environment of still subdued inflation. Earlier this week, SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel reiterated that price stability remains the central bank’s main concern, stressing its determination to act if necessary to contain inflation risks.
Attention now turns to the release of the S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Services PMI later in the day, which could provide further direction to the US Dollar and the USD/CHF pair.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.05% | -0.12% | 0.58% | 0.11% | -0.07% | 0.47% | 0.08% | |
| EUR | -0.05% | -0.17% | 0.54% | 0.07% | -0.12% | 0.42% | 0.03% | |
| GBP | 0.12% | 0.17% | 0.71% | 0.23% | 0.05% | 0.60% | 0.20% | |
| JPY | -0.58% | -0.54% | -0.71% | -0.46% | -0.64% | -0.11% | -0.49% | |
| CAD | -0.11% | -0.07% | -0.23% | 0.46% | -0.19% | 0.36% | -0.03% | |
| AUD | 0.07% | 0.12% | -0.05% | 0.64% | 0.19% | 0.55% | 0.15% | |
| NZD | -0.47% | -0.42% | -0.60% | 0.11% | -0.36% | -0.55% | -0.39% | |
| CHF | -0.08% | -0.03% | -0.20% | 0.49% | 0.03% | -0.15% | 0.39% |
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).
Author
Ghiles Guezout
FXStreet
Ghiles Guezout is a Market Analyst with a strong background in stock market investments, trading, and cryptocurrencies. He combines fundamental and technical analysis skills to identify market opportunities.
