Another quiet day in Swissy trading, as it pretty much stayed within range. USD/CHF traded within a range of just 40 pips and ended the day at .9634, up just 22 pips from its opening price.
No surprise that we’re not seeing any action on USD/CHF. That could all change later today though, when Swiss National Bank Vice-Chairman Jean-Pierre Danthine talks about foreign exchange regimes at a seminar in Zurich.
Hmmm… An SNBboard member talking about forex exchange policy? That sounds like trouble for the Swissy if you ask me!
Make sure you tune in at 12:30 am GMT when Danthine is scheduled to speak. A few words here and there maybe interpreted as jawboning, which could send USD/CHF and EUR/CHF soaring higher.
And the streak continues! With the markets still on risk-off mode, USD/CHF recorded its fourth day of gains, rising 15 pips to end at .9649.
Again, action was slow on USD/CHF as Switzerland didn’t publish any major releases. The only thing worth noting was SNB member Jean-Pierre Danthine’s remarks on the Swiss franc. He said that the currency’s appreciation has been “significant” and is not good for the economy. The question we must now ask is: “Is the SNB ready to intervene or is it content with defending the EUR/CHF peg at 1.2000?”
Up ahead, we have the release of the KOF economic barometer at 7:00 am GMT. Survey says we’ll probably see the index rise from .81 to .87 for the month of June, though an upside surprise may result in a mini Swissh rally.
Now that’s how you end the week with a bang! After four consecutive days of losses, the Swissy came roaring back to end the week, as it sliced and diced its way to victory versus the dollar. By the end of the day, USD/CHF was trading 158 pips lower at .9491.
The KOF economic barometer also helped the Swissy, as it printed much better-than-expected at 1.16, after it was projected to have a score of just 0.87. This marked the third consecutive month that the index kicked the projection to the curb and printed in the green. It also marked the fourth month in a row that the index improved. Could this be a sign that the Swissy economy is back on track?
For today, we’ve got two second tier reports lined up in the form of the retail sales and SVME PMI.
Word in the Alps is that retail sales rose by 2.1% last month. This would be a nice improvement from the 0.1% growth we saw the month before. Meanwhile, the SVME PMI, which is based on the results of a survey of 200 business managers, is expected to print at 44.8, down from last month’s 45.4 score.
The two reports will be released one after the other at 7:15 am GMT. If they come in much better than projected, it could give the Swissy a nice boost up the charts.
Boy, did the Swiss franc have a bad day yesterday. Despite positive data from Switzerland, it gave up some of the gains that it incurred on Friday to the dollar. USD/CHF traded higher after opening at .9477. By the day’s close, the pair was up at .9543.
It was reported that Swiss retail sales grew by 6.2% in April, almost thrice the 2.1% market forecast. On top of that, the SVME PMI revealed that business conditions improved in June. The report printed at 48.1 following the 45.4 figure for May, also beating the consensus at 44.8.
However, it seemed that risk aversion started to creep in yesterday and shadowed the stellar reports that we got for the Swiss franc. It looks to me like traders have become cautious about the plans that EU leaders laid out in their meeting last week.
With that said and given that our forex calendar is blank for reports from Switzerland today, be sure you keep tabs on market sentiment. Remember that the Swiss franc usually does well when risk appetite is up, but it doesn’t mix well with risk aversion.
With no hard hitting data lined up, Swissy trading was as chill as a ride down the French Alps. By the end of the day, USD/CHF found itself trading at .9528, marking a small 15 pips loss on the day.
We may see consolidation today as U.S. traders take off for Independence Day. Still, make sure you adjust any existing positions as you never know what might rock the markets when you least expect it.
The Swiss franc skied down the charts faster than an avalanche in yesterday’s trading. It scored a 55-pip loss to the dollar as USD/CHF ended the day at .9583.
As it turned out, my crystal ball was wrong yesterday. The lack of economic reports from the U.S. and Switzerland didn’t leave USD/CHF in consolidation. Instead, it made it vulnerable to market sentiment.
Analysts say that the Swiss franc’s loss yesterday can be explained by traders already pricing in the worst out of the ECB’s interest rate decision which is due today. (You can read more about it in my EUR commentary.)
With that said and given that we still don’t have any economic data from Switzerland today, be sure you keep an ear out for what the ECB has to say as remarks from the central bank could continue to dominate the franc’s price action.
Like many other currencies, the franc played puppet to risk appetite yesterday. Interest rate cuts and additional stimulus were the name of the game yesterday, pushing USD/CHF all the way to .9696 by the end of the day.
Let’s see if the franc can steal back the spotlight from its counterparts today when Switzerland releases its foreign currency reserves at 7:00 am GMT, followed by the CPI report at 7:15 am GMT. Both reports are expected to print a bit lower than their previous numbers, but stick around in case we see any market-moving surprises!
The Swiss franc just hit a new low, low, low, low! On Friday, the currency tapped its 19-month low against the dollar at .9794 before closing the day with an 83-pip loss at .9779.
USD/CHF was pretty much in consolidation for the most part of the day’s trading. However, the pair traded higher following the disappointing NFP report from the U.S. as risk aversion dominated market sentiment. Tsk, tsk!
I wonder if the Swiss franc will find any support on the charts when the unemployment rate is released later today. At 5:45 GMT, markets are expecting the rate of joblessness to have remained steady at 3.2% in June.
Keep in mind that a higher-than-expected figure could send the Swiss franc lower on the charts while a lower-than-expected reading could boost it. Good luck!
Thanks to the positive labor report, the Swissy was able to hold its ground against the safe haven dollar yesterday. USD/CHF, which had begun the day at .9803, closed the U.S. trading session 52 pips lower at .9751.
Switzerland’s unemployment report showed that joblessness has fallen to 2.9%. That’s a very good figure since the market was expecting joblessness to actually rise to 3.2% from the previous month’s 2.9% (revised from down 3.2%).
Nothing up ahead in terms of data so we may see the Swissy consolidate today. Nevertheless, it will be best to keep tabs on any reports from other major economies that could have an indirect effect on the Swissy’s price action.
What a workout for the franc bears! Though no data was released from Switzerland, the franc fell against most of its major counterparts. USD/CHF rose by 49 pips to .9802, while GBP/CHF also enjoyed a nice 67-pip rally.
Since no data was released from the land of the Swiss Alps, it might be the SNB who’s calling the shots on the franc’s price action. After all, they did promise to hold EUR/CHF to its 1.2000 floor. And what do you know – EUR/CHF capped the day with a doji at 1.2009 despite the euro selloff!
No Swiss data is expected to be seen today, so watch for any interesting news from the other major economies! And remember to follow your trading plans, will ya?
Is that a new low I see? Why, yes it is! The Swissy was once again sold off yesterday as it made a fresh 19-month low against the safe haven dollar. Despite the new low, the Swissy traded relatively stable and closed the day with a mere 6-pip loss.
No major news report was released in Switzerland yesterday but today we’ll be treated to the country’s Producer Price Index. The PPI, which measures the monthly change in the price of goods and raw materials purchased by manufacturers, is expected to report a 0.2% decline for the month of June, just like May’s figure.
Since the PPI is considered as a leading indicator of consumer inflation, higher than expected figures are normally seen as bullish for the Swissy. Let’s see how the PPI will affect the Swissy’s price action later.
Not so fast, franc bulls! Just when everyone thought that Swissy is in for a reversal, the franc bears launched another attack and pushed USD/CHF to its new one-year high at .9840.
The franc bears had help, of course. Thanks to risk aversion all over markets yesterday, currency traders became hungry for the Greenback. Too bad there weren’t any reports from Switzerland to give aid to the franc bulls.
Today the only report we’ll see from the land of the Swiss Alps is the PPI report out at 7:15 am GMT. The report doesn’t usually influence the franc pairs’ price action, so be careful in placing big positions on your franc trades!
Thanks to weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data, the Swiss franc was able to recoup most of its losses to the Greenback for the past few days as USD/CHF slid close to its week open price of .9806 before the weekend.
Switzerland didn’t release any big reports last Friday but the Swissy was able to take advantage of the U.S. dollar selloff that took place after Uncle Sam reported weaker than expected consumer confidence data. This was enough to get traders buzzing about QE3 again, which caused the Greenback to lose its shine for the entire day.
Today, Switzerland is set to release its industrial production report for the second quarter of 2012. This could show that industrial production slipped by 7.5% during the period, which would be worse than the previous period’s 8.8% jump. If the actual figure comes within or below expectations, the Swissy might be forced to return some of its recent gains.
Switzerland has a couple more reports due during the latter half of the week, and these are the ZEW economic expectations figure due on Wednesday and the Swiss trade balance due Thursday. Stay tuned to my economic commentary to see how those reports could turn out!
The franc won the safe-haven battle yesterday thanks to dollar-bearish news from the U.S. USD/CHF hit an intraday high at .9865 before the franc bulls attacked and dragged it to its .9783 closing price. What gives?
As I mentioned in my USD piece, the disappointing retail sales report rained on the Greenback’s parade yesterday as it supported arguments for more stimulus for the U.S. economy.
But will Big Ben Bernanke give in to the pressure? No data is scheduled for release in the land of the Swiss Alps today, but stay at the edge of your seats to see if there are any more news reports that could affect demand for the low-yielding franc!
Tubthumping Tuesday for the Swissy! The Swiss franc got knocked out but it got up again during the U.S. session as USD/CHF closed 5 pips below its .9783 open price, after hitting a high of .9853. What caused all that commotion and will we see more fireworks today?
Switzerland didn’t release any economic reports yesterday, leaving USD/CHF at the mercy of risk sentiment and U.S. data. The franc suffered a selloff during the London session thanks to weak economic releases from the U.K. and downbeat updates from the euro zone, but the currency managed to stage a strong recovery when Fed head Bernanke gave his testimony later on. Drop by my U.S. commentary to see how it all went down!
Only the ZEW economic expectations report is set for release from Switzerland today and it is expected to show a rebound from the bleak -43.4 reading seen last May. Although the index is likely to stay in the negative zone indicating pessimism for June, a reading higher than May’s could enable the Swissy to carry on with its rally. Keep an eye out for that release at 9:00 am GMT.
The Swissy gave as good as it got yesterday, but when all was said and done, it ended the day unchanged. After an uneventful start to the day, USD/CHF rallied strongly in the European session, tapping a high of .9831. But sellers struck back in the U.S. session, erasing all of the Swissy’s losses to force USD/CHF to close right where it started at .9778.
Yesterday’s lone Swiss report, the ZEW economic expectations index, upgraded its reading from -43.4 to -42.5 last month, indicating that expectations are beginning to stabilize in the land of Rolexes and cheese. Following the release of the report, the Swissy was sold off sharply against the Greenback, but it’s hard to say if this was a reaction to the ZEW results, as most dollar pairs experienced a similar move at the time.
Today, we’ll be treated to Swiss trade balance data, which most believe will show a slimmer surplus. Forecasts have it coming in at 2.21 billion CHF, down from 2.48 billion CHF in May. Though this report doesn’t usually cause big moves on the charts, it could get Swissy bulls going if it prints a huge upside surprise. Catch the release at 6:00 am GMT if you want a piece of this action!
USD/CHF traded lower during the Tokyo and London sessions. However, just when everyone thought the franc was about to make a run for pips, USD/CHF began trading higher! By the day’s close, the pair was up 3 pips above its opening price at .9781.
Where did the franc’s swagger go? It seems that concerns about rising bond yields in Spain weighed down not only the euro, but its Swiss counterpart as well. In fact, the negative vibes brought about by rising borrowing costs in the euro zone’s fourth largest economy shadowed the positive trade balance report from Switzerland.
It was reported that the country scored a trade surplus of 2.25 billion CHF, topping expectations for a 2.21 billion CHF figure.
With our forex calendar blank for reports for the franc today, be sure you keep tabs on market sentiment. I have a feeling that without any economic report, the currency will remain vulnerable to the market’s mood swings. Good luck!
Even the Swissy wasn’t spared from the dollar’s mighty rally last Friday! It didn’t stand a chance against the dollar’s advances as it weakened from the very start of the day, falling almost 100 pips before the New York session came to a close.
Just as we had suspected, without any Swiss reports to support the currency, the Swissy fell victim to the markets’ mood swings, a.k.a. risk sentiment. Unfortunately for Swissy bulls, sentiment favored risk aversion, which in turn favored the risk haven dollar.
Will we get more of the same this week? Perhaps! But in any case, you should probably continue tracking risk sentiment if you plan on trading USD/CHF, as Switzerland won’t be publishing any reports until Friday, when it releases the KOF economic barometer (expected to rise from 1.16 to 1.24).
So in the meantime, make sure you keep tabs on risk sentiment, homies!
The franc shook off a poor start and managed to edge higher versus the dollar, as USD/CHF closed 21 pips lower at .9897. Still, the pair failed to fill the weekend gap. Will it finish the job today?
No data headed our way today from Switzerland, but will all the focus on Europe right now, it would be prudent to keep an eye out for those Spanish yields!
There it goes again! The Swissy found itself on the losing end of the equation as it slipped against the Greenback. USD/CHF finally broke above the .9900 handle, ending the day 53 pips higher at .9950. Can the market sustain these levels?
Well, that’ll depend on risk sentiment! If risk aversion continues to dictate price action, it will most likely lead to more losses for the Swissy. On the other hand, if traders get their grub on and risk appetite improves, we could see the Swissy get back in the game and erase some of its recent losses.
Once again, nothing on the economic calendar for Switzerland today, so don’t hold your breaths waiting for reports! Instead, check out what the U.S. has to offer if you plan on trading the news with USD/CHF. Good luck and happy pipping!