Rally and reverse! USD/CHF couldn’t make up its mind in yesterday’s trading, as the pair shot up to a high of .9333 before turning around and falling back to close at .9275. What was that all about?
There were no major reports released from Switzerland during yesterday’s London session, as the only report that affected USD/CHF’s movement was the U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI, which came in better than expected.
Switzerland’s economic schedule is empty again for today, which suggests that the franc could simply rely on risk sentiment or data from other major economies. Anything can happen so stay on your toes!
Ho-hum. With no news out from Switzerland, USD/CHF and EUR/CHF danced to the tune of the dollar and the euro. Will the franc get a chance to make its own moves today?
Yesterday an overall dollar weakness weighed on USD/CHF while a better-than-expected German report was responsible for the uptick seen in EUR/CHF.
But fret not, franc traders! The low-yielding currency may have a chance at making its own waves today when Switzerland releases the SECO consumer climate numbers at 5:00 am GMT followed by the foreign currency reserves data at 7:00 am GMT and Swiss CPI at 7:15 am GMT. Switzerland’s CPI can sometimes produce enough volatility for a decent day trade, so make sure you’re not missing any opportunities today!
Like its fellow European currencies, the Swiss franc managed to bully the U.S. dollar into submission yesterday. For the fourth straight day, USD/CHF sold-off, ending the day 40 pips lower from where it had been at the beginning of the Asian trading session.
Data released was disappointing. The monthly inflation report showed that the average cost of goods and services decreased 0.4%, which was higher than the 0.3% decline initially forecasted. A falling inflation rate is normally considered negative for the domestic currencies as it could prompt the central bank to cut rates.
Today, only one economic report is scheduled to be published. At 5:45 am GMT, the country’s unemployment rate figure will be released. It’s anticipated to show that joblessness remained at 3.2%.
My my, that was some rally! The franc showed the dollar who’s boss, as the Swiss currency took advantage of risk appetite in the markets. USD/CHF breached the 1.0400 major psychological support and tumbled all the way down to a low of 1.0303.
Switzerland’s jobless rate for July was released yesterday and it showed that unemployment held steady at 3.2% for the month. The franc had a positive reaction to this report, as it showed that Switzerland’s job market was relatively stable compared to major economies that have shown weaker hiring recently.
There are no reports on Switzerland’s docket for today, which suggests that the franc could take its cue from market sentiment once more. Stay on your toes!
Tough luck for the franc, as it simply couldn’t extend its winning streak and finish the week with a clean sweep. USD/CHF closed at .9220, up 21 pips from its opening price.
Can the Swissy bulls retain their form today? Watch out for the retail sales report which is due at 7:15 am GMT. My minions tell me that year-on-year sales growth should be at around 1.9%, which would be a decent follow-up to last month’s 1.8% figure. Should this print higher than anticipated, we could see the franc erase last Friday’s losses.
Not much movement on the Swiss pairs to start the week. USD/CHF only rose 22 pips to .9255 while EUR/CHF barely budged and ended just 3 pips higher at 1.2314.
The Swiss retail sales report wasn’t much help. Though it printed a 2.3% year-on-year increase in June (beating the 1.9% forecast), it was largely ignored by the markets and didn’t have much of an impact on Swissy price action. Perhaps it was because the previous month’s 1.8% growth was revised down to 1.5%.
In any case, we’re all out of reports for today, so y’all might want to check out the euro zone and the U.S. for news to trade. Looking at the economic calendar, we’ve got economic sentiment reports coming from the euro zone and retail sales data due from the U.S. These have potential to move the Swissy pairs, so be sure to tune in!
The franc played another game of Simon says as it moved to the beat of its counterparts. USD/CHF popped up above .9300 while EUR/CHF also gained by 63 pips.
As I mentioned in my USD update, a better-than-expected U.S. report boosted the Greenback across the board. It’s also fortunate that the euro bears never got around to selling EUR/CHF as traders concentrated on the good parts of the slew of euro zone reports released yesterday.
Let’s see if today’s Swiss reports will have any impact on the franc’s price action. At 7:15 am GMT we’ll see the PPI report, followed by the ZEW economic expectations data at 9:00 am GMT. These reports don’t usually rock the markets much, but watch out for any surprises nonetheless!
When will the bleeding stop?! The Swiss franc crumbled under dollar strength once again, as USD/CHF reached a high of .9377 before ending the day at .9338, 10 pips up from its open price. Will the Swissy have a chance to recover today?
Switzerland printed weaker than expected PPI data, which revealed that producer price levels stayed flat during the month of July. This was below the estimated 0.4% increase and the previous month’s 0.1% uptick. Fortunately, Switzerland’s ZEW economic expectations report turned out strong, as the index climbed from 4.8 to 7.2, allowing the franc to erase some of its losses for the day.
There are no reports due from Switzerland today, which suggests that USD/CHF’s movement could depend mostly on U.S. data. Stay on your toes!
Just when it seemed like the franc was in for another losing day, the Swiss currency cracked its knuckles and put up a strong fight against the dollar. USD/CHF edged 4 pips close to the .9400 handle before selling off and reaching the .9250 mark.
There were no reports released from Switzerland yesterday but, fortunately for the franc, U.S. data came in mostly weaker than expected and allowed USD/CHF to retreat from its recent rallies. Record-low first-time jobless claims initially sparked dollar strength but USD/CHF was unable to sustain its gains because other U.S. reports, such as industrial production and the Empire State manufacturing index, fell short of expectations.
Switzerland’s schedule is empty for today so better keep tabs on U.S. data again if you’re trading USD/CHF. Housing reports and consumer sentiment figures are up for release in today’s New York session.
Friday was a topsy-turvy day for the Swissy, as USD/CHF jumped to a high of .9288 then dipped to a low of .9217 before ending at .9272. EUR/CHF had a pretty crazy day too, but the pair managed to hold on to the 1.2350 minor psychological handle.
Dollar behavior was mostly responsible for USD/CHF’s behavior last Friday, as traders continued to cast their bets on the possibility of the Fed’s Septaper. There were no reports released from Switzerland then.
The only report due from Switzerland this week is its trade balance, which is set for release on Thursday 7:00 am GMT. The surplus is expected to fall from 2.82 billion CHF to just 2.91 million CHF, reflecting a downturn in trade activity for July.
Stay on your toes for the main events in the U.S., such as the FOMC meeting minutes release and the Jackson Hole Symposium, as these could have a huge impact on USD/CHF!
With no data on tap for Monday, USD/CHF pretty much just stayed within a range the entire day. The pair traded within a consolidation of around 60 pips, eventually ending the day at .9238, down 28 pips from its starting point on the day.
Once again, not expecting much movement from the Swissy today. Just be sure to keep an eye out for any data headed our way from the U.S., as you never know what might rock the markets!
There goes the .9200 handle! USD/CHF finally broke below the major support level as the Swissy overcame the dollar in yesterday’s tussle. The pair finished 68 pips lower and settled at .9172.
Without any major reports to explain the move on USD/CHF, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the Swissy gained so much ground against its American counterpart. Some say that the improving outlook for Europe is driving demand for European currencies once again, while others attribute the move to a decline in U.S. Treasury yields.
Today, we won’t be receiving any new reports from Switzerland, but the U.S. is set to publish its FOMC meeting minutes. This release could cause another sharp move on USD/CHF, so I suggest you guys tune in when it comes out!
Yikes! The Swissy practically gave back its gains from Tuesday as USD/CHF rose 52 pips on the day. Now, the pair is back above the .9200 handle!
Without any catalysts from Switzerland, the action on USD/CHF yesterday was mostly because of the dollar’s movement. But today, there’s a chance that the Swissy may get down and boogie if its trade balance report delivers any surprises!
At 6:00 am GMT, the July Swiss trade balance numbers will be available. According to market forecasts, we’ll likely see the country’s trade surplus widen from 2.82 billion CHF to 2.91 billion CHF. Normally, a higher figure is good for the currency, so if the report prints results way above expectations, it may just revive demand for the Swissy!
Strike two for the Swissy! Just one more strike and you are out! For the second straight day, the Swissy was unable to hold off the advances of the dollar. USD/CHF began the day at.9223, but found itself slowly rising throughout the day, closing the U.S. trading session at .9236.
Since early Wednesday, the pair has gained over 50 pips, supported by the better-than-expected Existing Home Sales and the FOMC’s most recent meeting minutes. With no data from Swizerland on deck, focus will turn to the Jackson Hole Symposium.
It will take place during the U.S. session and we will hear various central bankers, finance ministers, and other analysts from all over the world discuss how the Fed should pull back from its $85 billion per month asset purchase program. Even though the Fed’s chairman has decided to skip the event, there is still a big chance that the symposium to create significant market volatility.
After losing ground to the dollar for two days in a row, the Swissy finally did enough to register a win. USD/CHF traded 27 pips lower, finishing at .9209, just above a major support level.
Will the .9200 psychological handle break today? It just might! But don’t expect Switzerland to provide the market with a catalyst because the economic calendar is blank for the country today.
In fact, in terms of data, we’ve got a relatively light week ahead of us. We only have tier 2 and 3 reports coming out. On Wednesday, the UBS Consumption Indicator will be available. Then we have employment numbers coming out on Thursday. Finally, we’ll cap the week off with the KOF Economic Barometer on Friday. Keep in mind, these reports aren’t really know to be big market movers, so you might be better off checking the U.S. for potential catalysts on USD/CHF.
USD/CHF was off to a slow start to the week as the pair hardly budged from its opening price. After trading as high as .9248, it eventually chilled out and came to rest at .9223, locking in a 10-pip gain on the day.
Without any catalysts to get the Swissy moving, it was understandably very sluggish on the charts. Unfortunately, we may get a repeat of yesterday’s inactivity as Switzerland won’t be releasing any new reports today either.
Those of you looking for Swiss data to trade will have to wait for tomorrow’s UBS Consumption Indicator to come out. Until then, sit tight and make sure you keep track of the dollar’s movements if you plan on trading USD/CHF!
The low-yielding currencies were kings of pips yesterday and the franc was no exception. USD/CHF, GBP/CHF, and EUR/CHF all showed losses despite the lack of reports from Switzerland.
It seems that the franc is seeing enough action even though Switzerland isn’t releasing reports. What happens, then, once it does? We’ll find out today at 6:00 am GMT when the UBS consumption indicator is released. The report had missed its expectations for the last two releases, so keep an eye out for surprises on this report!
Yesterday wasn’t a good day to be a franc bull as the Swiss currency lost ground to both the dollar and the euro. USD/CHF found support at the .9180 area and jumped to a high of .9234 while EUR/CHF made an upside break from consolidation to close above 1.2300.
Switzerland’s UBS consumption indicator release turned out to be a disappointment, as the June figure was revised down from 1.44 to 1.41 while the July figure showed another 1.41 reading. This reveals that economic conditions have worsened in the past months and haven’t shown any improvement in July. It didn’t help the franc that risk aversion still lingered in the markets yesterday.
Switzerland is set to release its jobs report today and possibly show a drop in its employment level from 4.15 million to 4.14 million for the second quarter of 2013. A lower than expected figure could lead to more losses for the Swiss franc while a higher than expected reading could give it a boost, so watch out for the actual release at 8:15 am GMT.
Ka-chow! The franc got blindsided in yesterday as the dollar staged a massive rally, leaving USD/CHF to finish at .9309, up a solid 89 pips from its opening price.
Not even good employment data could boost the franc, as the employment level came in at 4.17 million, which not only beat the forecast of 4.14 million, but marked a nice improvement from the 4.15 million we saw last quarter. For those of wondering, this marks the highest level over the past SEVEN years!
So Switzerland posted good data, but why didn’t the franc rally?!
As it turns out, it was as if the dollar said to the Swissy, “It ain’t you, it’s me.” Concerns about a military strike against Syria have died down, which has allowed the dollar to make a relief rally in the markets, leaving market players to completely discount the good Swiss employment figures.
For today, the KOC economic barometer report will be released at 7:00 am GMT. If the report prints a reading higher than the project 1.34 score, it could give the franc some support and allow it to recuperate some of yesterday’s losses.
The franc ended the day almost unchanged against the dollar and higher against the euro in Friday’s trading. Here’s why.
Blame it on the price action of the franc’s counterparts! Even though Switzerland’s KOF economic barometer came in better-than-expected (1.36 vs. 1.34), the franc mostly traded on the price action of its counterparts. Mixed reports from the U.S. resulted in a near tie over at USD/CHF, while overall euro weakness weighed on EUR/CHF.
Today at 7:30 am GMT we’re expecting the SVME PMI, which is estimated to slip from 57.4 to 55.9. The report can be good for a quick trade for the franc if there’s no other major report on tap, so you might want to pay attention to this one!