Investing.com - The dollar pared gains against the Swiss franc on Friday, pulling back from five-week highs after a report showed that the U.S. economy added slightly fewer than expected jobs last month.
USD/CHF ended Friday’s session at 0.8916, down from highs of 0.8953, the strongest since February 13. For the week, the pair was 0.81% higher.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8850 and resistance at 0.8951.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, below expectations for jobs growth of 200,000. February’s figure was revised up to 197,000 from a previously reported 175,000. The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%, compared to expectations for a tick down to 6.6%.
The data disappointed some market expectations for a more robust reading but indicated that the U.S. central bank is likely to stick to the current pace of reductions to its asset purchase program.
The dollar rose to more than five-week highs against the Swissy earlier Friday as risk appetite continued to be underpinned by hopes that China will implement economic stimulus measures to shore up slowing growth.
In the week ahead, markets will be focusing on Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy setting meeting. Switzerland is to release data on retail sales inflation and foreign currency reserves.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Monday, April 7
The Swiss National Bank is to publish data on its foreign currency reserves. This data is closely scrutinized for indications of the size of the bank’s operations in currency markets. Switzerland is also to release data on consumer price inflation.
Tuesday, April 8
Switzerland is to release data on retail sales, the government measure of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of overall economic activity.
Wednesday, April 9
The Federal Reserve is to publish what will be the closely watched minutes of its latest policy meeting.
Thursday, April 10
The Labor Department is to release its weekly report on initial jobless claims.
Friday, April 11
The U.S. is to round up the week with data on producer price inflation and the preliminary report on the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.