Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged up against the Swiss franc on Thursday, hovering close to eight-month highs as demand for the greenback remained supported by recent upbeat U.S. data and as markets eyed an upcoming report on last week's U.S. jobless claims.
USD/CHF hit 0.9092 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9083, adding 0.08%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9041, the low of August 1 and resistance at 0.9115, Wednesday's high and an eight-month high.
The dollar remained supported after data on Wednesday showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly to $41.54 billion in June. It was the smallest deficit in five months as exports inched up 0.1% and imports fell 1.2%.
The report came one day after data showed that the U.S. service sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in July, while a separate showed that U.S. factory orders rose 1.1% in June, above economists' forecasts of a 0.5% gain.
In Switzerland, official data on Thursday showed that foreign currency reserves rose to 453.4 billion Swiss francs last month, from 449,6 billion in June.
The Swissie was little changed against the euro, with EUR/CHF inching up 0.05% to 1.2152.
In the euro zone, official data earlier showed that German industrial production rose 0.3% in June, disappointing expectations for an increase of 1.3%, after a 1.7% decline in May whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.8% drop.
Investors were awaiting the European Central Bank’s rate statement later Thursday, as concerns over the divergence in monetary policy between it and its major peers weighed on the single currency.
The ECB was expected to keep monetary policy unchanged after it cut rates to record lows in June in a bid to avert the threat of deflation in the region.