Daily Economic Commentary: Switzerland

Wham, bam, thank you risk appetite, you’re the man! With sentiment improving across the board, the franc blasted through the dollar in yesterday’s trading action. USD/CHF dropped 69 pips to finish at .9881 and in the process, filled the weekend gap!

The franc got a nice boost from news that there are discussions that the ESM could be granted a banking license. This is significant, as it could allow the ESM to tap the ECB for additional funding should it need to.

Let’s see if the risk rally can continue today and if USD/CHF can make a run for that .9800 handle!

USD/CHF dropped it like it’s hot yesterday as the pair broke down from its consolidation around .9900 and fell to a low of .9742. After a bit of sideways movement towards the end of the U.S. session, the pair ended the day at .9744. Can the Swissy hold on to its gains today?

Switzerland didn’t release any economic data yesterday but the Swiss franc was lifted by ECB President Mario Draghi’s commitment to save the euro. This restored a bit of confidence in the region and its shared currency, and was also enough to bring risk appetite back in the markets.

Only the Swiss KOF economic barometer is set for release today. This report, which is a combined reading of 12 economic indicators in Switzerland, reflects the outlook for the Swiss economy over the next few months. The index is expected to climb from 1.16 to 1.24 this July, showing a slight improvement in Switzerland’s economic performance and outlook. Keep an eye out for the actual data due 7:00 am GMT because a stronger than expected result could give the Swissy another boost.

Not so fast, franc bulls! USD/CHF might have dipped to an intraday low of .9695 last Friday, but the franc bears soon attacked after a U.S. data boosted the Greenback. Can you guess the Swiss data that might have boosted the franc early in the day?

If you guessed the KOF economic barometer, then you should give yourself a pat on the back! The data came in at a reading of 1.43 in July, which is a lot stronger than the 1.24 figure that market players were expecting.

Unfortunately for the franc bulls, a stronger-than-expected GDP data supported the Greenback in the later trading sessions, which boosted the pair to close with only a 9-pip uptick.

No data is scheduled from the Land of the Swiss Alps today, so you better pay attention to other reports that might influence risk appetite!

The Swiss franc joined most of the other major currency’s in the losers bench yesterday as it also gave up pips to the dollar. USD/CHF traded higher, tapping an intraday high of .9825, before finishing 33 pips above its opening price at .9799.

It looks like the lack of economic data from Switzerland left the currency vulnerable to market sentiment. With that said and given that we still don’t have any market-moving report for the franc today, be sure you gauge the market’s mood before trading the Swissy!

Usually, the franc rallies when risk appetite is up but it doesn’t do so well when risk aversion is in play.

Good luck!

The Swiss franc was able to move higher against other major currencies yesterday amid mounting concerns over whether the ECB would disappoint the markets with inaction in its interest rate decision later this week. The Swiss franc, for instance, gained 36 pips over the safe haven Greenback.

Since Friday, anticipation has been growing that the ECB would do something significant to fight the debt crisis. But market strategists are starting to become doubtful that the central bank would act.

Swiss banks will be on holiday today so don’t expect a lot of action from the franc. Economic data will also be none existent. Do, however, prepare yourself for some choppy movement and volatility spikes here and there during today’s US session.

The franc ate the dollar’s dust in yesterday’s trading as USD/CHF skyrocketed on the charts following the FOMC statement. By the day’s close, the pair was up 69 pips from its opening price at .9832.

Aside from a not-so-dovish Ben Bernanke, the lack of economic reports from Switzerland left the franc vulnerable to market sentiment too. But all you looking to buy the franc, fret not! Today we have a couple of reports on tap for the currency that COULD help it pare some of its losses.

First up at 7:15 am GMT is the retail sales report for May which is seen to come in at 2.8%. Then at 7:30 am, the manufacturing PMI report for July is eyed at 47.1.

Better-than-expected figures could be bullish for the franc, so make sure you don’t miss 'em!

Just like the euro, the Swissy suffered the wrath of the safe haven Greenback yesterday. USD/CHF, which started the U.S. trading session at .9831, closed the day 31 pips higher at .9862.

The sell-off was the result of the very disappointing ECB Interest rate decision. The market had hoped to get some kind of easing of monetary policy, new liquidity measures, or intervention in the bond market, but all they got was a promise to move IF the governments work with them. Political leaders must first act before the ECB can step in to provide aid.

No major news report scheduled for release today from Switzerland but the U.S. is set to publish its employment report at 12:30 pm GMT. The employment report is a major market mover and it will surely have a strong impact on the Swissy’s price action

Kaboom! The franc came up on top of its fellow low-yielding currencies last Friday as traders sought high-yielding currencies like the euro and the Aussie. USD/CHF plunged by 155 pips to .9707 after hitting an intraday high at .9874. That’s NFP Friday for you, folks!

No data was released from Switzerland last Friday, but traders bought high-yielding currencies like there was no tomorrow after the NFP report from the U.S. came in much better than investors had expected.

The land of the Swiss Alps won’t be releasing any major data until tomorrow when it prints its employment, inflation, and foreign currency reserves reports, so the franc will most likely trade on risk sentiment for today. Keep an eye out for any market-moving news, will ya?

If you’re a range trader, then you probably enjoyed the Swiss franc’s price action yesterday. It simply moved in a horizontal channel with resistance at .9735 and support at .9665. The Swiss franc closed the day at .9691 versus the dollar, which was just 7 pips lower from its opening price.

The Swiss franc’s lack of direction may just have been the result of the absence of economic data. Today could be much different though as the country is scheduled to release its consumer price index.

The report, which will come out at 7:15 am GMT, is expected to show a 0.5% decline. A falling CPI is normally considered bearish for the economy, as it could lead to lower interest rates in the future.

Are my charts going haywire, or did EUR/CHF actually go up to the 1.2075 area yesterday? Both USD/CHF and EUR/CHF ended the day near its open price, but a look at the lower time frames tells us that there is more to the story.

Believe it or not, the spike in franc pairs that we saw in early Tuesday trading is a valid one, as confirmed by the electronic currencies trading system EBS.

Of course, the Swiss data released yesterday might have also factored in the franc’s price action. Apparently, the SNB’s currency reserves is at a record high of 406.5 billion CHF in July, which amounts to 71% of Switzerland’s GDP. The SNB admitted that most of its stockpiles came from defending EUR/CHF’s 1.2000 floor. Now that’s commitment!

In other news, unemployment in the land of the Swiss Alps came in at 2.9% in July as analysts had expected, while the country’s inflation rate dropped by another 0.5% after slipping by 0.3% June.

The SECO consumer climate data at 5:45 am GMT today is the last one out of the Swiss docket this week, so you better pay attention to the report! If not, you can always trade on the Greenback’s price action and pit it against the franc. After all, we all know that EUR/CHF isn’t going anywhere. At least not in the near future, at least.

The Swiss franc lost a bit of ground to the U.S. dollar yesterday as USD/CHF ended the day at .9720, 30 pips up from its .9690 open price. What happened yesterday and will the Swiss franc be able to recover today?

Weaker than expected SECO consumer climate data triggered a Swissy selloff yesterday as the index slipped from -8 to -17. Analysts were expecting a slight improvement from -8 to -4 for July, but the actual reading showed that consumer confidence worsened significantly during the month.

There are no reports due from Switzerland today so make sure you keep close tabs on risk sentiment to figure out where USD/CHF could be headed. Good luck!

Just like its European neighbors, the franc stumbled against the dollar in yesterday’s trading matches. USD/CHF rose 47 pips to close the day at .9766. Will the pair make it three in a row to end the week?

What can you do if good ol’ risk aversion is going against you? Make sure to pay attention to the equities markets, as this could give you the heads up on what side risk sentiment is leaning on today. If you start seeing red across the board, it might mean another day of pain for the franc today.

It’s a deadlock, ladies and gents! USD/CHF managed to end right where it started on Friday as neither the bulls nor the bears wanted to give in. The pair dipped to a low of .9749 before it closed at .9768. Which way could the Swissy be headed today?

Switzerland didn’t release any major reports on Friday, which explains why USD/CHF ended back at its day open price. This week, we might see more consolidation from USD/CHF as there aren’t any red flags on Switzerland’s schedule again!

Only the PPI and ZEW economic expectations index are due from Switzerland this week, and these reports aren’t expected to have a huge impact on Swissy movement. With that, what we should take note of are those reports and events that could affect risk sentiment for the week. Make sure you check out the rest of my daily commentaries to find out!

No stalemate this time! The Swissy was all over the dollar yesterday as it snatched 31 pips away from its American counterpart. Will USD/CHF continue falling today?

From the looks of it, the answer to that question will depend on how the market feels about the dollar! Switzerland will only be publishing PPI data (expected to show a 0.2% decline in prices, up from a decline of 0.3%) at 7:15 am GMT, and it’s likely that this report won’t do much to catch the market’s attention (unless it prints a huge surprise, of course).

On the other hand, the U.S. is set to release its retail sales data, and that could serve as a major mover on USD/CHF! So for those of you looking to trade the news, tune in at 12:30 pm GMT!

The Swissy was off to a strong start against the Greenback as it managed to maintain its lead until the halfway mark of the London session. But as the New York session rolled along, the Swissy fell back and was eventually outrun by the U.S. dollar. What the heck happened?!

One of the reasons that could explain the Swissy’s mid-session drop was the weaker than expected Swiss PPI. The actual figure came in at -0.3% for July when analysts were expecting a mere 0.2% dip. Another factor that caused the Swissy selloff against the U.S. dollar was stronger than expected U.S. retail sales and PPI.

The coast is clear in terms of economic releases from Switzerland today, which means that USD/CHF could be swayed by risk sentiment and U.S. data again. Bear in mind that U.S. CPI figures are on tap for today and that another round of strong figures could boost the Greenback. Stay tuned for the actual reports due 12:30 pm GMT!

At the start of the day, it looked as though USD/CHF was gonna serve up another boring day of trading. But then action picked up in the London session as the pair made its way up the charts. To the dismay of Swissy bulls, the market ditched the Swiss currency, forcing USD/CHF to end 31 pips higher at .9775.

Sadly, the Swissy was one of the very few currencies that lost to the dollar yesterday. For now it seems as though the markets are undecided as to where they want to take USD/CHF.

We might’ve gotten no news from Switzerland yesterday, but today is a different story because it’s due to publish its ZEW economic sentiment report at 9:00 am GMT. The last time this index came out, it printed a reading of -42.5. Keep in mind, a highly positive reading could spark a comeback for Swissy bulls, so don’t miss it!

Thanks to overall dollar weakness and a relatively better economic data, the franc was able to pump higher during the New York session. By the end of the day, USD/CHF closed 54 pips lower to finish at .9721.

The only report we saw from Switzerland yesterday was the ZEW economic expectations index, which printed at -33.3. Despite the pessimistic outlook, this was still much better than the -42.5 we saw last month. Hey, I did say relatively better right?

We could be in for more range like behavior today, as we’ve got nothing lined up for us today. Just be sure to check out my euro zone commentary to find out what data might drive risk sentiment during today’s London session.

No data? No problem! The franc bulls barely exerted effort in boosting the low-yielding currency thanks to the dollar weakness that we saw last Friday. USD/CHF dropped by 54 pips after dipping to an intraday low of .9706.

Only the trade balance data on Thursday at 6:00 am GMT is scheduled for the Land of the Swiss Alps, so make sure you keep your eyes on the other major economies in case we see any market-moving action!

For the EIGHTH day in a row, USD/CHF stayed within a tight range, with yesterday’s high and low separated by less than 20 pips.

With no hard reports lined up during the London and New York sessions, we should probably see the summer trend of consolidation continue on USD/CHF. If you’re the type who loves scalping, this could be an opportunistic time for you to make some pips!

The Swiss franc tapped its inner Sylpipster Stalone and muscled its way against the dollar in yesterday’s trading. Almost immediately after opening at .9726, USD/CHF dropped like a rock on the charts and closed at .9636.

There weren’t any reports from Switzerland. However, rumors about the ECB putting a cap on the bond yieldsof peripheral euro zone nations boosted risk appetite which consequently had the Swiss franc hustlin’ too.

Our forex calendar is once again blank for reports for the currency today. So, it would be a good idea to keep tabs on updates from the euro zone. I have a feeling that developments on the debt crisis would continue to dictate market sentiment. Good luck, y’all!