Investing.com - The Swiss franc and the yen eased on Thursday but remained supported after surging in the previous session as heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea sparked a flight to safety.
The dollar was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.29% to 0.9666 by 03.46 a.m. ET (07.46 a.m. GMT), having fallen 1.2% on Wednesday.
The Swissy held on to the bulk of gains made the previous day against the euro, with EUR/CHF last at 1.1332.
The euro fell 1.02% against the franc on Wednesday, marking the largest one day change since the Swiss National Bank shocked markets when it scrapped its currency peg with the euro in January 2015.
The yen was fractionally higher against the dollar, with USD/JPY at 110.00, up from Wednesday’s two-month low of 109.55.
The Swiss franc and the yen are often sought in times of geopolitical tension or market turbulence because both countries have large current account surpluses.
Investors remained wary as tensions between the U.S. And North Korea continued to simmer.
Markets were awaiting upcoming U.S. inflation data for its possible impact on the Federal Reserve’s plans for a third rate hike this year.
A report on U.S. producer prices for July is due out on Thursday and the consumer price inflation report will be released on Friday.
The euro was lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.27% to 1.1725.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade- weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.25% to 93.64.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar was sharply lower, with NZD/USD down 1.49% after the country’s central bank kept interest rates on hold at record lows and said it would like to see the local dollar fall.