Ahead of the release of the US Industrial/Manufacturing Production figures, the Swiss Franc to US Dollar exchange rate was trading in the region of 1.0252, down 0.2% on the day’s opening levels.
The Franc was trading in a stronger position against the Euro however and was holding steady against the Pound.
The Franc had previously achieved a high of 1.0238 against the US Dollar as investors responded to the below-forecast US Advance Retail Sales report.
However, bets that the ‘Greenback’s declines were overdone soon saw the currency recoup losses.
Before the weekend we can expect to see further Swiss Franc exchange rate movement as Switzerland publishes its Producer Price Index and Retail Sales report.
Producer prices are believed to have fallen by -1.2% on a month-on-month basis in March, resulting in an annual figure of -4.1%.
Meanwhile, economists have projected that retail sales rose by 0.2% on the month in February, pushing the year-on-year number to 1.6% from the previous -0.3%.
Friday’s US Consumer Price Index is also scheduled to inspire considerable currency-market movement.
In light of Tuesday’s slightly disappointing US Advance Retail Sales report, the US Dollar may plummet across the board if US inflation dips into deflation territory.
The non-core CPI is expected to hold at 0.0%, but a lower figure would reduce the odds of the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates in the summer and put the ‘Greenback’ under serious strain.
As higher-risk and emerging-market currencies would be buoyed by this development, the Swiss Franc could soften against a number of its riskier rivals whilst gaining on the US Dollar.
Next week investors with an interest in the Swiss Franc will be focusing on Switzerland’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for April – due out on Wednesday. The gauge of confidence is expected to improve from -37.9 to -12.89.
The only other Swiss report to be aware of next week is the nation’s Trade Balance data. Switzerland’s trade surplus is expected to narrow slightly in March, largely due to the stronger domestic currency.
Of course, global economic developments (like the Greek debt negotiations) and economic reports from the US will also have an impact on the direction taken by the Swiss Franc in the days to come.