USD/CHF trades firmly near 0.8000 as Fed to keep interest rates steady this month
- USD/CHF clings to gains near 0.8000 as investors expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady in the January policy meeting.
- The US inflation remained steady in December.
- The SNB is unlikely to make any monetary policy adjustment in the near term.
The USD/CHF pair holds onto gains near the monthly high of 0.8000 during the late Asian trading session on Thursday. The Swiss Franc pair trades firmly as the US Dollar continues to outperform on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause its monetary-easing cycle this month.
At the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, ticks up to near 99.17. The DXY is close to its monthly high of 99.26 posted last week.
US Dollar Price Last 7 Days
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies last 7 days. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.36% | 0.26% | 1.11% | 0.33% | 0.67% | 0.68% | 0.41% | |
| EUR | -0.36% | -0.10% | 0.76% | -0.01% | 0.31% | 0.32% | 0.05% | |
| GBP | -0.26% | 0.10% | 0.87% | 0.08% | 0.41% | 0.42% | 0.15% | |
| JPY | -1.11% | -0.76% | -0.87% | -0.78% | -0.43% | -0.45% | -0.69% | |
| CAD | -0.33% | 0.01% | -0.08% | 0.78% | 0.36% | 0.35% | 0.10% | |
| AUD | -0.67% | -0.31% | -0.41% | 0.43% | -0.36% | 0.01% | -0.26% | |
| NZD | -0.68% | -0.32% | -0.42% | 0.45% | -0.35% | -0.01% | -0.27% | |
| CHF | -0.41% | -0.05% | -0.15% | 0.69% | -0.10% | 0.26% | 0.27% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar 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).
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the Fed is certain to leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75% in the January policy meeting. In the last three policy meetings, the Fed delivered three interest rate cuts of 25 basis points (bps) amid weak job market conditions.
The speculation for the Fed keeping interest rates steady this month has intensified, following the release of the United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December. The CPI report showed that price pressures remained sticky.
Additionally, the imposition of 25% tariffs on the import of some advanced computing chips by the White House, which includes the Nvidia H200 AI processor and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, has also improved the US Dollar’s appeal.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Franc (CHF) trades broadly calm as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is unlikely to make any adjustment in its current monetary policy stance. The SNB holds interest rates at 0% as inflation in the Swiss region has remained low. The Swiss central bank is also keeping pushing hopes of negative interest rates, citing that the ultra-dovish stance will be unfavorable for depositors and pensioners.
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.
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