Forex - USD/CHF weekly outlook: June 23 - 27

Dollar ends week lower against Swiss franc

Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against the Swiss franc on Friday, trimming the week’s losses after the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates will remain low for a considerable time after the bank’s asset purchase program ends.

USD/CHF eased up 0.12% to 0.8949 late Friday, paring the week’s losses to 0.58%.

The pair is likely to find support at 0.8909, Thursday’s low and resistance at 0.8998, Wednesday’s high.

The greenback weakened broadly after the Fed gave no indication of when interest rates could start to rise at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. In addition, the Fed’s forecast of where interest rates might reach in the long term fell from 4% to 3.75%.

The central bank cut its bond purchases by $10 billion a month, to $35 billion, saying there was "sufficient underlying strength" in the U.S. economy to continue tapering.

Despite this, the Fed lowered its forecast for growth this year to a range of 2.1% to 2.3% from 2.8 to 3.0% previously, due to "unexpected contractions" in the first quarter as a result of the unusually harsh winter.

The Fed acknowledged the recent increases in inflation and drop in unemployment, but Chair Janet Yellen said no formula was in place for when interest rates would start to rise.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up to 80.41 late Friday from lows of 80.24 on Thursday. For the week, the index lost almost 0.3%.

The Swiss National Bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged close to zero on Thursday and reaffirmed its commitment to the minimum exchange rate of CHF1.20 per euro.

The accompanying rate statement released after the announcement said the Swiss franc is “still high.”

The SNB said it would continue to enforce the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 per euro with the utmost determination and reiterated that it is prepared to purchase foreign currency in “unlimited quantities” and take further measures if required.

In the coming week, the U.S. is to release data on consumer confidence, durable goods orders and home sales, while Switzerland is set to release its latest trade data.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.

Monday, June 23

The U.S. is to release preliminary data on manufacturing activity and private sector data on existing home sales.

Tuesday, June 24

Switzerland is to publish data on the trade balance, the difference in value between imports and exports.

The U.S. is to release private sector data on consumer confidence, as well as a report on new home sales.

Wednesday, June 25

The U.S. is to publish data on durable goods orders, as well as revised data on first quarter growth.

Thursday, June 26

The U.S. is to release data on personal income and expenditure, as well as data on inflation linked to personal spending.

Friday, June 27

Switzerland is to publish its KOF economic barometer.

The U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.