The USD/CHF pair is expected to extend the previous day’s decline from the highest level in almost three weeks – levels just above the 0.8100 mark – and lose ground for the second day in a row on Wednesday. The decline is being nurtured by a prevailing US Dollar (USD) selling bias and pulling spot prices into the mid-0.8000 regions, closer to the lower end of the weekly range, in the past hour.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell to a one-week low as delayed US macro data released on Tuesday reaffirmed the Federal Reserve’s dovish outlook. In fact, the US Producer Price Index pointed to signs of slowing inflation, while US retail sales rose less than expected in September. Furthermore, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to a seven-month low in November amid concerns about a slowing labor market, giving the US central bank more room to ease policy further.
Meanwhile, New York Fed President John Williams said last Friday that interest rates could fall in the near term without jeopardizing the central bank’s inflation target. Separately, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said earlier this week that the labor market is weak enough to warrant another quarter-point rate cut at the December meeting. Moreover, Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Meiran echoed the dovish view and said in a television interview on Tuesday that the deteriorating labor market and economy call for deep interest rate cuts to make monetary policy neutral.
Traders reacted quickly and now estimate a roughly 85% probability that the US central bank will cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points in December. In contrast, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is expected to keep its key interest rate at 0.00% for the foreseeable future, with analysts expecting interest rates to remain unchanged until 2027. This in turn supports the case for another near-term downward move for USD/CHF. Traders are now looking forward to the delayed release of US durable goods orders, which, coupled with US unemployment claims, could provide some momentum to the US dollar.
US dollar price this week
The table below shows the percentage change in the US Dollar (USD) against the major currencies listed this week. The US dollar was the strongest against the Canadian dollar.
| US dollars | euro | GBP | JPY | Canadian | Australian dollar | New Zealand dollar | Swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US dollars | -0.59% | -0.68% | -0.33% | -0.17% | -0.67% | -1.34% | -0.30% | |
| euro | 0.59% | -0.09% | 0.27% | 0.42% | -0.09% | -0.75% | 0.29% | |
| GBP | 0.68% | 0.09% | 0.35% | 0.51% | -0.00% | -0.66% | 0.38% | |
| JPY | 0.33% | -0.27% | -0.35% | 0.15% | -0.40% | -1.15% | 0.02% | |
| Canadian | 0.17% | -0.42% | -0.51% | -0.15% | -0.50% | -1.17% | -0.13% | |
| Australian dollar | 0.67% | 0.09% | 0.00% | 0.40% | 0.50% | -0.65% | 0.39% | |
| New Zealand dollar | 1.34% | 0.75% | 0.66% | 1.15% | 1.17% | 0.65% | 1.05% | |
| Swiss franc | 0.30% | -0.29% | -0.38% | -0.02% | 0.13% | -0.39% | -1.05% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes in major currencies versus each other. The base currency is chosen from the left column, while the counter currency is chosen from the top row. For example, if you select USD from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
