Somebody call the paramedics because the Swissy got heavily knocked out! USD/CHF opened at .9077, jumped to a high of .9153, then closed at .9135 as the Greenback drew its strength from risk aversion. Will the Swissy suffer additional injuries today?
Switzerland’s weaker than expected SVME PMI was probably one of the reasons why the Swissy was unable to put up a fight against the Greenback yesterday. The figure for April slipped from 51.1 to 46.9, showing that the manufacturing industry is already in the contractionary phase. The April figure was also below the consensus of 51.6.
It didn’t help that traders just lost their appetite for risk when the U.S. printed a weak ADP jobs figure during the U.S. session, further dwindling demand for the Swiss franc.
Switzerland won’t be releasing any economic figures today, which means that USD/CHF could be driven by reports from the U.S. Make sure you drop by my U.S. economic commentary if you plan to trade this pair!
Back to snoozing on the charts! Like a sloth, the Swissy was motionless on the charts as it hardly budged against the dollar and the euro. While EUR/CHF traded 2 pips down to 1.2014, USD/CHF ended the day unchanged at .9135. Will we see more movement today?
Maybe! After all, we do have a couple potential catalysts on tap! First up is the Swiss retail sales report, which is expected to come in and show a 1.2% growth following the previous month’s 0.8% surge. This report could give the Swissy a boost if it prints a highly positive figure, so don’t miss it at 7:15 am GMT!
Y’all should also keep an eye on the U.S. NFP, which could turn out to be a major market driver on USD/CHF. I’m sure plenty of traders will be anxious to see that report. Don’t miss out! Join the fun and tune in at 12:30 pm GMT to catch the NFP!
Woah! Did you see how the Swissy got clobbered by the Greenback last Friday? USD/CHF broke out of its range and soared past the other week’s high of .9173. The pair even gapped higher over the weekend as it opened at .9216. Will the Swissy be able to recover today?
Switzerland reported a stronger than expected retail sales figure for March, chalking up an annualized 4.2% increase. This was more than thrice as much as the estimated 1.2% uptick and was more than five times higher than February’s 0.8% increase, hinting at better prospects for overall economic growth.
However, the upbeat mood for the Swiss franc was quickly doused by weaker than expected U.S. jobs figures. Apparently, the U.S. economy added only 115,000 jobs in April instead of the estimated 173K, and this weighed on risk sentiment before the end of the week.
Today, Switzerland will report its foreign currency reserves figure and its CPI for April. Make sure you stay on your toes for the foreign currency reserves release at 7:00 am GMT because this could show whether the SNB is still determined to defend its currency peg or not. An increase in foreign currency reserves held by the SNB could be negative for the Swiss franc while a figure lower than the previous reading of 237.5 billion CHF could keep the Swissy afloat.
Aside from the SECO economic forecasts report due on Tuesday, there are no other releases scheduled from Switzerland for the rest of the week so make sure you keep close tabs on market sentiment to figure out where the Swiss franc is headed.
Swiss franc bears were in full control of USD/CHF at the start of the day as the pair gapped up 39 pips over the weekend. However, the bulls fought back valiantly and forced the pair to shift directions as it peaked at .9272. By the end of the day, they had managed to erase most of the franc’s losses, pushing USD/CHF to close at .9201.
The foreign reserves report didn’t deliver much of a bang as it hardly changed in April. The total value of foreign currency reserves held by the SNB fell from 237.5 billion CHF to 235.6 billion CHF.
Meanwhile, the CPI report fell below expectations, printing a 0.1% rise in prices (just half the expected increase). This only underlines the need for the Swiss franc to weaken, as the threat of deflation obviously hasn’t left Switzerland!
Today, we’ll only have the SECO consumer climate report to look at and survey says that the index will remain in negative territory. It’s expected to print a reading of -18 following the previous reading of -19. If you want to catch this report, just hold your breaths for a few more hours as it will be available at 5:45 am GMT.
Ha, so much for follow through! After making a nice comeback late on Monday, the franc gave back its gains versus the dollar as USD/CHF closed at .9231, up 30 pips from its opening price.
Once again, it was overall risk aversion flows that spelled doom for the franc. Seeing as how we’ve got no hard data heading our way over the next couple of days, it would best to monitor risk sentiment as it will likely be the most influential factor in Swissy trading.
Even the Swissy wasn’t immune to the dollar’s advances as it ended up giving ground to the American currency. USD/CHF trended up the whole day, eventually closing 45 pips higher at .9276. Meanwhile, EUR/CHF continued to crawl sideways and ended the day practically unchanged at 1.2011.
Once again, we won’t be getting any reports from Switzerland today. But that doesn’t mean we won’t get any action from the Swissy!
Unlike EUR/CHF, USD/CHF has been able to maintain its volatility levels and has even produced some solid trade setups in the past. So if trading the Swissy is your thing, better keep your eyes locked on USD/CHF! The U.S. has a couple of red flags on the economic calendar, and these could serve as catalysts for tradeable moves on USD/CHF.
Because absolutely nothing was on its economic calendar, the Swissy simply moved sideways versus the dollar yesterday. USD/CHF traded in a tight horizontal channel with resistance just below the .9300 handle and support at .9260.
Once again, Switzerland’s economic calendar today is devoid of data so the Swissy will likely get its direction from events in other major economies. In the U.S., the producer price index (8:30 am GMT) and the Preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment (1:55 pm GMT) will come out. If they come in better than expected, the Swissy could end up being sold-off against the Greenback.
USD/CHF continued to range like a Range Rover on Friday. Although resistance still held at the .9300 handle, the Swiss franc wasn’t able to hustle past support around .9280. By the day’s close, the pair was up 15 pips from its opening price at .9295.
We might see a repeat of Friday’s price action today because we still don’t have any market-moving data scheduled for the currency. However, we do have the second-tier PPI report from Switzerland on tap. Keep in mind that April’s reading is seen at 0.4%. A better-than-expected figure give the franc a little boost so don’t miss it!
The Swissy took a beating from the safe-haven Greenback yesterday as risk aversion dominated the markets. USD/CHF opened near the .9300 handle then zoomed to a high of .9366 before closing at .9357. Let’s take a look at the upcoming releases to see if the Swissy could get back on its feet today.
Weaker than expected PPI figures from Switzerland hurt the Swissy yesterday as producer prices dropped by 0.1% in April. Analysts were expecting to see a 0.4% uptick to follow March’s 0.3% increase, but were disappointed to find out that inflationary pressures were subsiding in Switzerland.
In terms of economic releases, the coast is clear for Switzerland today, which means that the Swissy could move to the tune of risk sentiment. Make sure you keep close tabs on the political conflict in Greece because that seems to be keeping risk appetite in check these days. Good luck!
The Swiss franc continued to swim in bear territory yesterday. USD/CHF took a little dive to tap its intraday low at .9334 before rallying to close the day 101 pips above its opening price at .9435.
Due to Switzerland’s close proximity to the euro zone, the Swiss franc fell victim to risk aversion sparked by concerns about the debt-ridden region.
But don’t worry! Unlike yesterday, today we have the Swiss ZEW Economic Expectations report on tap to sink our teeth into. At 9:00 am GMT, market junkies will be looking to see if the outlook of analysts for the country improved from March’s 2.1 reading. A higher figure will probably boost the Swissy so make sure you keep tabs on the report!
Is that a spinning top I see on USD/CHF’s daily chart? Why, yes it is! The pair, after opening the day at .9436, went as high as .9472, dropped to .9414, and then closed the day at .9446. It was a crazy, crazy day in terms of price action!
The only data released [U]in [/U]Switzerland was the ZEW Economic Expectations survey. It came in with a reading of -4.0, which was much worse than the 2.1 reading seen the month before.
Today, Swiss banks will be on holiday so we won’t be seeing any economic releases. However, this doesn’t mean that the Swissy’s price action will also be on hold! There are a lot of data scheduled to be published by other major economies that could indirectly affect the Swissy. Be careful!
The Swiss franc still hasn’t gotten its swag back. It scored its eighth consecutive loss to the dollar yesterday when USD/CHF closed 3 pips above its opening price at .9454. Boo!
But on the brighter side of things, its loss yesterday was chump change compared to those it scored earlier on in the week. Could it be that the dollar rally is finally losing steam?
Maybe. However, don’t get too carried away with that theory just yet. Keep tabs on updates from the euro zone which could potentially cause market sentiment to shift. Remember that risk aversion usually sends USD/CHF higher while risk appetite sends it lower.
For the first time in nine days, the Swissy was able to rally against the Greenback. USD/CHF, which began the day at .9454, closed the U.S. trading session at .9400 and marked a 54-pip victory. Is this the beginning of a new trend?
No report was released last Friday and major news reports will be scarce again this week as only the SECO consumer climate survey, the trade balance, and the employment level report are due. They are only medium-tier reports which normally do not have a strong impact on price action.
Because the Swiss forex calendar is pretty light, it’d be better to pay attention to the developments in the euro zone instead. If Greece’s situation hits the limelight again, we could see another round of risk aversion!
Despite the overall risk appetite that ruled the markets yesterday, the low-yielding franc posted gains against its major counterparts. In fact, USD/CHF fell by another 22 pips to .9368 while GBP/CHF also dropped by 32 pips.
Swiss economic data might have also boosted the franc as the SECO consumer climate data showed that consumers aren’t as pessimistic last quarter than they were in the last quarter of 2011. The index figure came in at -8, which is a lot better than the -19 figure that we saw in three months ago. Remember that a reading above 0.0 indicated optimism.
No Swiss data is scheduled for release today, so you might want to keep close tabs on risk sentiment. Who knows, you might find a decent risk-related trade among the franc pairs!
The Swissy snapped its two-day winning streak as euro zone concerns weighed heavily on the foreign exchange market again. Risk aversion was the main market theme again, which meant dollar was king and the Swissy was sold-off.
The short-lived market optimism just shows that macroeconomic conditions haven’t really changed, and the possibility of Greece getting ejected out of the euro zone is still there.
Switzerland’s economic cupboard is completely devoid of data today so the Swissy’s price action will likely be driven by events happening elsewhere. Pay special attention to the EU summit that will take place later today, as it could have an indirect impact on the Swissy.
With no economic report scheduled from Switzerland yesterday, the franc lost against most of its major counterparts. Its losses were particularly notable against its fellow “safe havens” like the dollar and the yen, while it also slipped against the pound and stagnated against the euro.
Switzerland won’t be releasing economic reports again today, so you might want to turn your focus on the potential big reports coming your way? Check theeconomic calendar and see which of the reports scheduled today interests you the most!
If the Swiss franc had to pick a song to describe its movement yesterday, it’d have to be “Rumor Has It” by Adele. The Swiss currency suddenly sprang to action against the euro, with EUR/CHF breaking out of consolidation around 1.2010 and spiking to a high of 1.2078. Read on to find out about the latest SNB rumor.
Word through the grapevine is that the SNB is gearing up to intervene and prevent the Swiss franc from rallying any further. This rumor sprang from the news that Switzerland’s trade surplus fell from 1.58 billion CHF in March to 1.33 billion CHF in April, prompting market participants to worry that the franc’s strength could be dampening demand for Swiss products.
Aside from that, speculation about a new tax on deposits which could discourage capital inflow to Switzerland also triggered a selloff.
Switzerland is set to release its employment level report today, which could take the focus off these intervention rumors. Hiring is expected to pick up in the country, with the employment level projected to climb from 4.04 million in Q4 2011 to 4.05 million to Q1 2012. Stay tuned for the actual release at 7:15 am GMT!
Have I forgotten to dust my monitor again, or did EUR/CHF actually show some action last Friday? EUR/CHF spiked to a high of 1.2038 before it capped the day back at 1.2011. Did someone play Adele’s Rumor Has It again?
Rumors of another currency intervention from the SNB certainly contributed to the franc’s weakness last Friday. The franc bears had difficulty dragging the currency though, especially when Switzerland’s employment level came in at 4.05 million in the first quarter of 2012, which is a bit more than the 4.04 million employed workers we saw in the last quarter of 2011.
Traders might have to look somewhere for action today as Switzerland is celebrating Whit Monday today. You could keep tabs on Swiss data for the rest of the week though, when the UBS consumption indicator, KOF economic barometer, GDP, retail sales, and SVME PMI will all be released throughout the week. Ah, nothing like the NFP week, eh?
Have fun trading this NFP week, kiddos!
So much for getting a headstart against the Greenback! USD/CHF quickly closed its weekend gap as the pair failed to stay below its week open price of .9556 and rallied towards the .9600 handle instead. EUR/CHF, on the other hand, had a relatively peaceful day as it consolidated around the 1.2020 area.
Just like their U.S. counterparts, Swiss traders were also off on a holiday yesterday. Despite their absence, USD/CHF had a pretty interesting day as risk sentiment continued to favor the safe-haven Greenback.
Today, Switzerland is set to report its UBS consumption indicator for April. Although this report usually doesn’t have a huge impact on Swissy pairs, it might be helpful to keep an eye out for it since there aren’t a lot of red flags on today’s agenda anyway. Recall that the March figure climbed from 0.90 to 1.22, and that another improvement could be in the cards for April. If that’s the case, the Swissy might be able to bounce back during the actual release at 6:00 am GMT.
Not much action on Swissy pairs yesterday as USD/CHF and EUR/CHF hardly budged from their opening prices. While USD/CHF ended 25 pips higher at .9611, EUR/CHF slipped just 6 pips down to 1.2016. Will we finally see big moves today?
Well, the Swissy might just be able to give us something to cheer about if the KOF economic barometer (due at 7:00 am GMT) prints a big surprise. Forecasts have the index climbing from .40 to .46, but a highly positive reading could trigger a round of Swissy buying.
On another note, it’s interesting to see that volatility on EUR/CHF seems to have died down down again after last Thursday’s speculative spike. Will rumors about an SNB intervention begin circulating again? Who knows! But it won’t hurt to stay on your toes and stay on top of developments in Switzerland!