[B]Intra-Day Market Moving News and Views
09 Feb 2015[/B] [I]00:09GMT[/I]
[B]USD/CHF[/B] - ....... A piece of chf-bearish news which came out over the weekend which has not yet been reacted by the market.
The Swiss National Bank is prepared to intervene in foreign exchange markets and has room to lower already negative interest rates if necessary to weaken the franc, the central bank’s chairman said.
“We are observing the exchange rate situation as a whole,” Thomas Jordan told Swiss radio station SRF in an interview broadcast on Saturday. “If necessary we are active but as I said we do not speak about our transactions.”
Jordan said it was important the SNB say nothing about possible transactions so that the central bank can have the biggest impact if it is required to intervene in the currency market.
Figures on monthly currency reserves and weekly sight deposits indicate the SNB is still actively curbing the franc, and a Swiss newspaper has reported that the central bank is unofficially targeting an exchange rate of 1.05-1.10 francs per euro.
Jordan said the negative interest rates are having a “strong impact” to make the franc less attractive, and signaled the central bank has room to push rates lower.
“There is certainly a limit for negative interest rates, but the question is where exactly that limit is,” Jordan said.
"However, I believe at the current level of -0.75%, the limit certainly isn’t reached yet."
Jordan said it was too early say exactly what impact removing the cap would have on the Swiss economy, but that growth n inflation would be lower than the SNB had previously forecast.
[B]This week will see the release of: [/B]
Japan’s Current Account, Consumer Confidence, Economy Watchers, China’s Trade Balance, Exports, Imports, Germany’s Trade Balance, Exports, Imports, euro zone’s Sentix Index, Canada’s House Starts [B]on Monday. [/B]
Japan’s Tertiary Industry Index, Australia’s Home Price Index, NAB Business Conditions, China’s CPI, PPI, Switzerland’s Unemployment, CPI, France’s Industrial Output, Italy’s Industrial Output, U.K.'s BRC Retail Sales, Industrial Output, Manufacturing Output, U.S. Redbook, Wholesale sales and Wholesale inventories [B]on Tuesday. [/B]
Japan Market Holiday, Australia’s Westpac Confidence, France Current Account, U.K.'s BoE quarterly inflation report, U.S. Federal Budget [B]on Wednesday. [/B]
Japan’s Corp Goods Price, Machinery Orders, U.K. RICS Housing Survey, Australia’s Employment, Unemployment, Germany’s CPI, HICP, euro zone’s Industrial Production, Canada’s New Housing Price Index, U.S.'s Retail sales, Business Inventories [B]on Thursday. [/B]
France’s GDP, Non-Farm Payrolls, Switzerland’s Producer/Import Price, Italy’s GDP, U.K. Construction O/P, euro zone’s Trade Balance, Canada’s Manufacturing Sales, U.S.'s Export Prices, Import Prices, University of Michigan Sentiment [B]on Friday.[/B]