The franc’s scorecard for Friday was as mixed as a margarita. While it posted a 37-pip win against the euro, it gave up 24 pips to the dollar when USD/CHF closed at .9550.
It appears that risk aversion stemming from concerns in the euro zone highlighted the franc’s safe haven appeal and allowed EUR/CHF to end the day lower. However, positive data from the U.S. and worse-than-expected data from Switzerland made it less appealing next to the dollar.
It was reported that Swiss currency reserves were higher in December at 254.2 billion CHF than they were in November at 231.6 billion CHF. On top of that, the CPI report for the same month showed that consumer prices continued to contract, matching its previous reading -0.2% and disappointing the 0.0% forecast.
With that said, be sure to stay tuned to the data we have on tap for Switzerland today. At 6:45 am GMT, the unemployment report for December will be released and it is anticipated at 3.1%. Then at 8:15 am GMT, the retail sales report will take center stage. Consumer spending is seen to have picked up in November, with the consensus higher at 0.6% than the -0.2% reading we saw for October.
Be sure you don’t miss these reports, okay? Good luck!
Due to the news of SNB Chairman Philipp Hilderbrand’s resignation yesterday, the Swissy was able to make some small gains across the board. EUR/CHF closed the day 33 pips lower while USD/CHF posted a 90-pip fall.
SNB Chairman Philipp Hildebrand finally caved in to the pressure yesterday as he announced that he would be resigning from his post. Hildebrand’s decision was the result of the market’s accusation that he and his wife sold the Swiss franc prior to the SNB’s currency intervention last August. Deputy Governor Jordan will take over for the mean time.
No major news reports due from Switzerland today, so pay attention to events from other major economies to determine the franc’s price action.
It looks like the Swissy is slowly getting its swag back on the charts. USD/CHF ended the day 5 pips below its opening price at .9491. Against the euro, the Swissy was able to stage a rally during the New York session to pare most of its losses for the day before closing just a pip above its opening price at 1.2123.
Some market junkies think that the currency’s recent price action means that investors are already over now-ex SNB Chairman Hildebrand’s resignation. If they are right and given that we don’t have any economic data listed on our forex calendar from Switzerland, the Swissy will probably trade according to market sentiment in today’s trading.
So keep in mind that the currency usually rallies against the euro when risk aversion is in play. However, renewed concerns about the euro zone will probably get it sold off against the dollar.
Even though Switzerland’s forex calendar presented nothing of interest yesterday, the Swissy was still pressured lower yesterday. USD/CHF, which started the day at .9491, ended the U.S. trading session 47 pips higher.
Apparently, the announcement that Fitch could possibly downgrade major economies like France and Spain was the main reason for the sell-off. While Switzerland isn’t part of the euro zone, the country is still a member of Europe and the events could negatively affect them.
No economic reports scheduled to be published from Switzerland today, but that doesn’t mean that the Swissy won’t experience any movement! There are a bunch of high profile events (ECB and BOE interest rate decisions, U.S. retail sales report) due for release in other major economies that could have an indirect effect on the Swissy’s price action.
With no reports released from Switzerland yesterday, the franc traded on the price action of its counterparts. EUR/CHF fell by 19 pips to 1.2106, while USD/CHF plunged by a whopping 104 pips to .9438. Boo yeah!
The economic boards are still empty in Switzerland for today, but watch your franc charts closely to see if yesterday’s market themes will still dominate today. As I mentioned in my other writeups, the dollar fell on poor economic data from the U.S., while the lack of bad news from the euro zone inspired mixed price action for the euro.
Let’s end the week strong, kids!
The Swissy found itself trading in a mixed manner last Friday. While it gained over the euro due to euro zone’s debt crisis, it was unable to do the same versus the safe haven Greenback. EUR/CHF was 28 pips lower by the end of the U.S. trading session while USD/CHF marked an 84-pip gain.
Switzerland’s economic calendar this week has a couple of medium-tier economic reports due. Later, at 8:15 am GMT, the country’s producer price index will be published. It is predicted to print a 0.3% gain, less worse than the 0.8% decrease seen the month before.
On Wednesday, at 10:00 am GMT, we’ll see the ZEW economic expectations survey. The survey, which measures how optimistic or pessimistic economists and analysts are about Swiss economy, showed a terrible -72 reading last month. Let’s see whether it’ll able to improve this time around.
Thanks to a low-liquidity trading day for the markets, the low-franc ended the day with mixed results against its major counterparts. EUR/CHF held steady with a 16-pip rise to 1.2088, but USD/CHF slipped by 11 pips to .9545.
The euro’s resilience against the franc was certainly surprising; especially since credit rating agency S&P just cut the EFSF’s rating from AAA to AA+. Not only that, Switzerland’s PPI also came in better-than-expected with a 0.3% growth in December against expectations of a 0.3% decline.
No reports are scheduled for release in Switzerland today, so make sure you have your eyes peeled for any news report that might affect risk sentiment! We all know how franc traders just love buying ‘em in times of risk aversion!
Thanks to the improvement in risk appetite, the Swiss franc was able to end the day higher against the Greenback as USD/CHF closed at .9502. On the other hand, it lost a bit of ground against the euro as EUR/CHF stayed in consolidation but closed 9 pips up from its 1.2088 open price.
Switzerland didn’t release any economic data yesterday, which explains the mixed performance of the Swiss franc. Better than expected economic sentiment figures from the euro zone caused the franc to edge lower against the euro while upbeat figures from China boosted the Swiss currency against the safe-haven U.S. dollar.
Today, Switzerland’s ZEW economic expectations index is set for release at 10:00 am GMT. The index came in at -72.0 in November, reflecting pessimistic expectations for the Swiss economy. If the index prints an improvement in sentiment for December, the Swiss franc could find a clearer direction today and post some gains against its counterparts.
Score a big one for the franc! Despite a risk-friendly market environment yesterday, the low-yielding franc managed to rocket against its major counterparts yesterday. USD/CHF plunged by 109 pips to .9393, while EUR/CHF dropped from its 1.2133 intraday high and closed at 1.2079.
Okay, maybe we’re not really looking at a risk-friendly environment here. There wasn’t any major report from the closely-watched euro zone yesterday, so traders might just be positioning ahead of any major announcement. Meanwhile, weak earnings reports from the U.S. probably contributed to USD/CHF’s fall.
Switzerland’s data might have helped too. Yesterday we saw the Swiss ZEW economic expectations come in at a -50.1 reading in December, which is a lot better than its -72.0 figure in November.
No reports are scheduled for release in Switzerland today, so make sure you got your eyes on the other major economies for any market-moving news events!
Ain’t no stopping the franc baby! With the risk appetite sign turned on, USD/CHF slid 81 pips to close at .9322. Will we see more of the same today?
No data coming out from Switzerland today, so once again, we can expected Swissy trading to dance to the beat of risk sentiment. Keep an eye out for news coming out of the euro zone, as you never know what might cause the market to move. Good luck trading today!
Just when everyone thought that the franc would sweep last week’s trading with a 5-day winning streak against the dollar, USD/CHF got rejected at support just above .9300. By the end of Friday’s trading, the pair was 22 pips above its opening price at .9344. Bummer!
The currency probably ran out of fuel due to the lack of any economic reports from Switzerland. With that said, I wonder if it will continue to give up pips to the dollar today given that our forex calendar still doesn’t have anything on tap for the franc. Hmmm, it might be a better idea to gauge market sentiment to help you decide whether to go long or short on the franc in today’s trading.
It looked like all was lost for the Swissy as it began the week with a poor start. USD/CHF gapped up 44 pips over the weekend as it opened at .9388. However, as the day wore on, the Swissy grew stronger, and it eventually forced USD/CHF to close at .9265, 113 pips down from its open price. What a comeback, eh?
Thanks to yesterday’s broad dollar sell-off, the Swissy was able to post some nice gains on the charts. However, against the euro, it merely held steady and practically ended unchanged.
From the looks of it, EUR/CHF will probably continue trading steadily today, considering it has traded within a tight range over the past few days. Of course, there’s a chance we’ll see bigger moves today in the event the euro zone makes another big announcement.
However, assuming everything stays mellow, USD/CHF may remain the pair to watch since it has shown extended moves over the past week or so. Remember, momentum is on the Swissy’s side, homies!
It was just one of those choppy days for the Swissy as USD/CHF spiked up and down between the .9250 and .9300 levels. EUR/CHF, on the other hand, traded higher and closed 14 pips up from its 1.2077 open price.
The lack of hard-hitting data from both Switzerland and the U.S. was probably the reason for USD/CHF’s choppy price action yesterday, as risk appetite also toned down. As for EUR/CHF, stronger than expected PMI figures from the euro zone account for most of EUR/CHF’s gains.
There aren’t any economic reports on Switzerland’s schedule today, but USD/CHF could be in for an exciting day as the FOMC is set to make its monetary policy statement at 5:30 pm GMT. Make sure you drop by my U.S. economic commentary to see how that could turn out!
Taking advantage of the scrilla’s weakness, the Swiss franc trampled its way to a major victory yesterday, as USD/CHF dropped 59 pips from its opening price to close at .9212.
With no data coming out for the rest of the week, we can probably expect Swissy trading to take its cue from shifts in risk sentiment. Who knows – we might just see a midweek reversal!
Every pip counts! The Swiss franc was able to pull off wins against both the dollar and the euro yesterday, and though its gains weren’t exactly impressive, seeing it rally against its two major counterparts isn’t something that happens everyday. It gained 5 pips against the dollar and stole 17 pips away from the euro.
It’s been a while since we last got a taste of Swiss data, so I’m sure y’all will be pleased to see the KOF economic barometer come out at 10:30 am GMT.
Forecasts have the index slipping from 0.01 to -0.06 for the month of January. Should results come in worse than expected, the franc could very well lose its recent gains and some!
Just like its European counterparts, the Swiss franc exerted its dominance over the greenback in last Friday’s action. USD/CHF closed 81 pips lower to finish the week at .9125. This marked the third consecutive week that USD/CHF has finished lower.
Only major piece of data coming out from Switzerland this week is yearly retail sales figures on Wednesday. Still, I don’t expect this to have that much of an effect on Swissy trading.
Instead, I’d focus on the ongoing European debt crisis and how the market reacts to any new developments. Interestingly, despite the lack of progress from European officials, the franc has persistently pushed higher versus the dollar. Sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense but hey, that’s just how the market rolls!
The Swissy’s scorecard was as mixed as a glass of margarita in yesterday’s trading. While it was able to end the day with an 11-pip win against the euro, it gave up 62 pips to the dollar when USD/CHF closed the day at .9181.
Without any economic data released from Switzerland, it seems that it was market sentiment that dictated the currency’s price action yesterday. But don’t worry! Today we have December’s UBS Consumption indicator to sink our teeth into at 7:00 am GMT.
If you’re planning to go long on the Swissy, keep your fingers crossed for a figure higher than the 0.81 reading we saw for November. This would indicate that economic conditions improved in the country so be on your toes!
We saw some mixed results for the franc yesterday, as USD/CHF climbed 25 pips to finish at .9205, while EUR/CHF edged even closer to its “floor” at 1.2000, as it closed the day at Could we see another SNB intervention?
Now that EUR/CHF is dangerously close to the 1.2000 peg, I can’t help but wonder whether SNB officials will do some jaw-boning. Take note that Thomas Jordan is now serving as interim SNB President, but rumors are that the central bank will name him as permanent within the next couple of weeks. Also, you should know that analysts believe that Jordan will simply carry with the monetary policy strategy that former SNB President Hildebrand laid out. Make sure you stay on your toes and be ready for some wild moves on franc pairs!
For today, we’ve got retail sales figures and the SVME PMI coming out at 8:15 am GMT and 8:30 am GMT respectively. Word on the street is that sales grew by 1.6% in December, while the index is projected to have increased from 50.7 to 51.7, indicating faster growth in the manufacturing sector. If the reports comes in much better-than-expected, it could give the franc another boost up the charts.
Negative data?? No problem! The Swiss franc still managed to rally against the dollar yesterday despite disappointing economic reports. USD/CHF started the day on an upward rally, reaching an intraday high of .9250, before trading lower and closing the day 43 pips below its opening price at .9161.
It was reported yesterday that consumer spending was weaker in November than it was in October. The retail sales report printed at 0.6%, only a third of the 1.8% uptick we saw the month prior and disappointed expectations which was for a 1.6% growth.
On top of that, the SVME PMI printed a contraction for January, coming in at 47.3 and disappointing the 51.7 forecast. The report tracks the outlook of purchasing managers in Switzerland. And so, the reading for January would imply that businesses don’t really have high hopes that economic conditions in the country will soon pick up.
Hmm, I wonder if the Swiss franc will still be able to get away with a win if the trade balance report for December comes in worse than expected. Due at 7:00 am GMT, it is anticipated to show that exports outpaced imports by 2.85 billion CHF.
Also, keep in mind that EUR/CHF is nearing the SNB’s peg at 1.2000. As Forex Gump has said, the pair is on an intervention watch. So don’t get too crazy buying the currency, ayt?
What a bummer! It appears that the the threat of currency intervention, as well as the upcoming employment report from the U.S., kept the Swissy’s price action muted all day yesterday. EUR/CHF, for instance, closed the day at 1.2050, just 2 pips higher from its opening price during the Asian session.
Switzerland’s isn’t scheduled to release any tier 1 data today but that doesn’t mean that the Swissy will be dead again! At 1:30 pm GMT, the U.S. will publish its non-farm payrolls report.
The non-farm payrolls is usually to be a major market mover, so expect to see some fireworks on the charts upon the release. Given how quickly traders have been reacting to good news recently, better-than-expected data could result in a risk rally and hurt the safe haven Swissy.