What a buzzkill! Unlike the other major currencies, the Swiss franc was unable to rally against the dollar in Friday’s trading. USD/CHFtraded higher and ended the day at .9184, up from its opening price of .9168.
Word on the street is that interim SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan’s remark about defending the 1.2000 level on EUR/CHF with “utmost determination” caused the Swiss franc’s demise. Yikes! And it looks like those words were enough to get investors flocking out of the currency.
With EUR/CHF still only within 100 pips of the central bank’s peg, it might be a good idea to be extra careful in trading the Swissy. Who knows, the SNB may just make good on its word and intervene.
USD/CHF see-sawed on the charts yesterday as sentiment in the euro zone waxed and waned. At first, the pair rose up due to the uncertainty surrounding the Greek bond swap deal. But once the U.S. trading session began, the market suddenly became more optimistic and sold the safe haven dollar. At the end of the day, USD/CHF traded at .9191, 4 pips lower from its opening price.
No tier 1 report was released from Switzerland yesterday, but there are some important events that are scheduled to happen today. At 8:00 am GMT, the country’s foreign currency reserves data will be published. Last month, it was at 254.2 billion CHF. Decrease in this account is normally considered bearish.
At 10:45 am GMT, a board member of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will do a speech. Speeches like this are usually watched by traders because they provide them with an insight into the central bank’s future monetary policy.
With barely any inflationary pressure for Switzerland, what’s stopping acting SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan from doing a bit of jawboning? It looks like it worked too, for EUR/CHF closed with a 26-pip gain after reaching an intraday high at 1.2104.
Yesterday acting SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan actively pledged to hold the central bank’s 1.2000 floor on EUR/CHF. Apparently, the central bank is still keeping close tabs on developments in the euro zone and is not letting up in actively weakening its currency if necessary. Looks like we can enjoy relatively cheap Swiss chocolates and watches a bit longer!
Today at 6:45 am GMT we’ll see Switzerland’s unemployment rate. Market players expect the figure to remain at 3.1% in January, but keep a close eye on this one in case we see any surprises!
Boooooooooooooring! Due to the lack of market moving events in Switzerland yesterday, the Swissy produced hardly any volatility yesterday. It simply traded within an extremely tight 50-pip range against both the euro and the dollar.
We could see more of the same from the Swissy in terms of price action as nothing major is scheduled to happen on its forex calendar. There’s the SECO consumer climate survey at 6:45 am GMT later, but that report doesn’t normally have an impact at all on the foreign exchange market.
With Switzerland’s economic release barely making an impact on the franc pairs and risk aversion kickin’ in yesterday, the franc traded with mixed results against its counterparts. USD/CHF fell by another 9 pips and closed at .9117, while EUR/CHF capped the day with a 10-pip gain at 1.2112.
Only the SECO consumer climate report was released yesterday, and the data revealed a slight improvement in consumer confidence for the past three months. The index reading printed at -19, which is way better than the -24 reading we saw three months ago.
For today you might want to watch out for the CPI report at 8:15 am GMT. The report is expected to decline by 0.3% in January from its 0.2% fall in December, but a bigger decrease might signal that the SNB will have less to worry about in intervening in the currency market.
Stay sharp in your trades, kids!
After spending an entire week moving sideways, USD/CHF finally broke out of consolidation and reached a high of .9201 last Friday. The pair gapped lower over the weekend, but will USD/CHF fill the gap and continue to climb this week?
Since euro zone officials seemed to be unimpressed by the latest set of Greek austerity measures, traders got worried that the next release of bailout funds might not push through, which could then force Greece to default on its obligations. This was enough to bring risk aversion back in the markets, leading traders to flock back to the safe-haven currencies.
As for economic data, Switzerland printed weaker than expected CPI last Friday, showing a 0.4% decline in consumer prices for January. Today, the PPI report is set for release, but this might not have that much impact on Swissy price action since the CPI was already printed.
On Wednesday, Switzerland is set to print its ZEW economic expectations report. Recall that the figure came in at -50.1 in December, showing a huge improvement from its previous -72.1 reading. Another improvement for January could provide support for the Swissy.
Despite the case of risk appetite that we saw for most of the day, the franc actually showed mixed results against its major counterparts. EUR/CHF slipped by 6 pips to 1.2087, while USD/CHF rose from an intraday low of .9102 to .9163.
Switzerland’s PPI report might have influenced the franc pairs for a while, when the data printed a flat growth for January instead of rising by 0.2% as analysts have predicted.
Unfortunately, no other economic report is scheduled for release today, so you better keep close tabs on risk appetite in markets! Word on the street is that we’re in for more bumpy rides as credit ratings agency Moody’s rocks the European economies by warning of downgrades. Yipes!
You can’t win 'em all, can you? While the Swissy was able to rack up some gains against the euro, it slipped against the U.S. dollar as USD/CHF reached a high of .9230 yesterday. EUR/CHF was able to close 11 pips down from its 1.2087 open price.
Switzerland didn’t release any economic reports yesterday, which probably explains the Swissy’s mixed performance against its counterparts. Uncertainty in the euro zone and downbeat news in the U.K. kept the Swissy afloat against the euro and the pound while a strong headline retail sales figure from the U.S. boosted USD/CHF.
Today, Switzerland is set to print its ZEW economic expectations report at 10:00 am GMT. Recall that the reading jumped from -72.0 to -50.1 in December, revealing that investors and analysts grew less pessimistic about Switzerland’s economic prospects at that time. Will we see another improvement in sentiment this time around? Make sure you keep your eyes and ears peeled for that report if you’re trading the Swissy today!
Another day, same results! The Swiss franc recorded small gains against the euro as EUR/CHF continued its gentle slide down the charts and shed 11 pips to end at 1.2065. Meanwhile, it lost 29 pips against the dollar as USD/CHF climbed to .9233.
Though the Swiss ZEW survey increased for the second straight month, it didn’t really do much to spark demand for the franc. The index gained 28.9 points to hit the -21.2 mark in February. Sounds impressive right? Well, not exactly. Many experts still believe that Switzerland’s economic situation is still mostly unchanged. What’s most striking is that only 5.7% of the surveyed analysts would describe the current state of the economy as “good.”
We ain’t got no reports coming out of Switzerland today, so in the meantime, check out what’s happening in the U.S. and euro zone! Good luck, homies!
Way to go, Swissy! It looked as though the Greenback had the upper hand yesterday but the Swissy made a strong comeback as it pushed USD/CHF to close 44 pips down from its .9233 open price. Against the euro, on the other hand, the Swissy was forced to retreat as EUR/CHF ended 7 pips up from its 1.2064 open.
Switzerland didn’t release any economic data yesterday, leaving the Swissy at the mercy of risk sentiment. Good news from the euro zone triggered a risk rally, from which the Swiss franc was able to benefit. Better than expected data from the U.S. also had a part in boosting higher-yielding assets as the overall mood in the markets improved yesterday.
There aren’t any economic reports scheduled for release from Switzerland today, which means that the Swissy could be swayed by risk sentiment yet again. Make sure you keep an eye out for any updates!
We didn’t get much action from the Swissy last Friday, but it made up for it over the weekend! After ending the day practically unchanged at .9186 last Friday, USD/CHF gapped down over the weekend and opened at .9163. Will this bullish momentum carry the Swissy higher this week?
It looks like the answer to that question will depend highly on risk appetite since Switzerland will only have trade balance data on tap this week.
The Swiss trade surplus is expected to narrow in January from 2.07 billion CHF to 1.95 billion CHF. Being an export-dependent country, it’s important for Switzerland to record stable, if not strong, exports. And I’m sure investors will be interested to see how the Swissy’s strength (and the SNB’s attempts to weaken it) will affect trade. Catch the report when it comes out tomorrow at 7:00 am GMT.
No stoppin’ the franc from strutting its swag, playa! Once again, the franc ruled the charts, posting decent gains versus the dollar. USD/CHF retested the .9100 handle and eventually closed at .9123, 40-pips below its opening price on the day.
For today, we’ve got trade balance figures coming in at 7:00 am GMT. Word in the forex ghetto is that the Swiss economy printed a trade surplus of 1.95 billion CHF in January. Still, I don’t expect this to affect Swissy trading too much - Switzerland has posted monthly surpluses for the past 9 years!
Instead, keep a watchful eye on any developments regarding the Greek debt deal. Many expect the deal to push through, so we could see risk appetite pick up today. Be careful trading out there my young padawan traders!
While most currencies were going cray-cray on the charts yesterday, the Swissy was on the sidelines chillin’ like a villain! It hardly budged against its two major counterparts as USD/CHF slid 2 pips lower to .9120 and EUR/CHF climbed just 1 pip to 1.2076.
Despite the release of Swiss trade balance data, the markets just couldn’t get the Swissy to move yesterday. Switzerland’s trade surplus came in short of expectations as it narrowed from 2.01 billion CHF to 1.55 billion CHF last month. Though pharmaceuticals helped exports post a 3.6% monthly growth, Switzerland still failed to reach the forecasted trade surplus of 1.95 billion CHF.
Looking ahead, the newswires will be silent in Switzerland for the rest of the week, so shift your attention to the U.S. and the euro zone if you need your daily fix of economic data.
Consolidation is the name of the game baby! USD/CHF was stuck in the mud yesterday, trading within a range of just 42 pips. The pair eventually closed at .9106, just 14 pips below its opening price for the day.
Considering that no hard data was released yesterday, it’s no surprise that we didn’t see much movement on the Swissy yesterday. In fact, don’t be surprised if we see some of the same type of trading environment today, as we’ve got nothing lined up once again!
Just be sure to keep an ear out for any developments out of the euro zone, as this could set the tone for risk sentiment during the London and New York trading sessions.
The Swiss franc traded on the charts with swagger like Mick Jagger yesterday. USD/CHF dropped to .9016 to end the day after opening at .9105. Meanwhile, EUR/CHF tapped its two-week low at 1.2045 before ending the day at 1.2056.
No economic data was released yesterday which means that market sentiment dictated the currency’s price action for the most part. We’ll probably see the same thing happen today as our forex calendar is once again blank for Swiss reports.
Just don’t get too excited buying the Swiss franc though. Keep in mind that EUR/CHF is already nearing the SNB’s 1.2000 peg. Who knows, the central bank might decide to intervene in the markets again. Good luck!
For the second day in a row, the Swiss franc ran all over the greenback, as USD/CHF sank to new lows. USD/CHF fell by another 68 pips to finish at .8948. Will we see a retracement soon or will bearish momentum continue to dominate?
I’m not expecting too much movement today, as no hard data is scheduled for release. Pay attention tomorrow though, as we have two potential Swissy movers on tap.
First, Swiss employment figures will be available at 8:15 am. Word out of the forex grapevine is that 10,000 jobs were added to the economy last December. This would be a good reversal from what we saw in November, when 90,000 jobs were unexpectedly cut.
Second, SNB Big Boss Thomas Jordan is set to talk at a forum in Zurich tomorrow. Remember, Jordan is the incumbent SNB Chairman. If he starts talking about the current level of the franc, he may just reiterate previous comments about the SNB’s “resolve” in maintaining its EUR/CHF peg at 1.2000.
The month of love ain’t over yet, but it seems like Cupid already walked out of the Swiss franc. The currency didn’t get any lovin’ in yesterday’s trading, scoring a 43-pip loss to the dollar and EUR/CHF ending the day two pips above its opening price at 1.2053.
Without any economic report from Switzerland, it looks like the franc fell victim to market sentiment. But don’t fret! Today we have a couple of reports listed in our forex calendar to help us with our CHF-trades.
At 7:00 am GMT, the UBS Consumption Indicator will be released a figure better than December’s 0.92 reading will probably be bullish for the currency. Then at 8:15 am GMT, the employment report for Q4 2011 will be released. Keep in mind that it is expected to show that 4.03 million people were employed during the quarter.
May the pips be with y’all!
It looks like the prospect of another long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) from the ECB is proving to be very beneficial for European-based currencies. Yesterday, for instance, the Swissy was able to steal some pips from the safe haven Greenback and close the day with a respectable 46-pip win.
On the economic front, the report on Switzerland’s employment level came out a good surprise. It showed that the number of people employed during the final quarter of 2011 was at 4.04 million, 10,000 higher than the initial forecast. It was, however, slightly lower than the previous quarter’s 4.05 million.
Today, there is only one important event lined up on Switzerland’s economic calendar. At 8:00 am GMT, the KOF economic barometer will be published. It is slated to show a reading of -0.11. The reading last month was -0.17.
Aha! The .8950 proved to be too much for the Swiss franc to handle. USD/CHF bounced off from the support level and ended yesterday’s trading 97 pips above its opening price at .9048.
Aside from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s not-so-dovish remarks and the ECB’s LTRO which sparked risk aversion, it also didn’t help the franc that the KOF Economic Barometer for February disappointed expectations. The report printed at -0.12 and fell short of the market’s -0.11 forecast.
However, I wonder if the GDP and manufacturing reports we have on tap from Switzerland today will be able to give the franc a boost.
Due at 6:45 am GMT, market junkies are expecting to see a measly 0.1% contraction in the Swiss economy for Q4 2011. Then at 8:30 am GMT, an improvement in the manufacturing sector for February is seen with the forecast eyed at 48.6, up from January’s 47.3 reading.
If you’re looking to go long on the CHF, it might be a good idea to keep your fingers crossed for better-than-expected figures. Good luck!
Despite the better-than-expected SVME Purchasing Managers’ Index and GDP report , the Swissy still found itself losing against most major currencies yesterday. With the threat of intervention from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) always present, it appears that traders aren’t very keen in buying up the currency.
The SVME PMI showed a reading of 49.0, slightly higher than the 48.6 consensus. Meanwhile, the country’s GDP report showed that the economy actually grew 0.1% and not contract 0.1% like initially predicted.
No economic reports are scheduled to publish in Switzerland today, so the Swissy will most likely get its direction from the events that will happen in other major economies like the U.S. and the euro zone.