Investing.com – The Swiss franc touched a record high against the broadly weaker U.S. dollar on Thursday, as expectations that the Federal Reserve will trail other central banks in tightening monetary policy hurt the greenback.
USD/CHF hit 0.8895 during European morning trade, the pair’s all time low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8957, down 0.25% on the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8895, the day’s low and short-term resistance at 0.8991.
The dollar lost ground after the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that total U.S. retail sales increased only 0.4% in March, compared with a 1.1% gain in the prior month, as rising gasoline and home-furnishings revenue offset declining sales of cars.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report said that economic activity in the U.S. continued to improve over the last month, helped by the manufacturing and retail sectors, but the disaster in Japan and higher energy prices created new uncertainty about the outlook.
The Swissie was also higher against the euro, with EUR/CHF shedding 0.34% to hit 1.2900.
Earlier Thursday, the ZEW Center for European Economic Research said Swiss investor confidence surged to the highest in eight months in April, as Swiss companies are boosted output and hiring to meet global export demand, encouraging consumer spending.
USD/CHF hit 0.8895 during European morning trade, the pair’s all time low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8957, down 0.25% on the day.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8895, the day’s low and short-term resistance at 0.8991.
The dollar lost ground after the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that total U.S. retail sales increased only 0.4% in March, compared with a 1.1% gain in the prior month, as rising gasoline and home-furnishings revenue offset declining sales of cars.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report said that economic activity in the U.S. continued to improve over the last month, helped by the manufacturing and retail sectors, but the disaster in Japan and higher energy prices created new uncertainty about the outlook.
The Swissie was also higher against the euro, with EUR/CHF shedding 0.34% to hit 1.2900.
Earlier Thursday, the ZEW Center for European Economic Research said Swiss investor confidence surged to the highest in eight months in April, as Swiss companies are boosted output and hiring to meet global export demand, encouraging consumer spending.