USD/CHF advances on Middle East war, robust US manufacturing PMI
- USD/CHF trades around 0.7800, up 1.50% on the day at the time of writing.
- The US Dollar remains firmly bid amid the war in the Middle East.
- ISM Manufacturing PMI comes in above expectations, reinforcing the USD upward momentum.
USD/CHF trades around 0.7800 on Monday at the time of writing, up 1.50% on the day, as the US Dollar (USD) extends gains that were already in place before the release of US manufacturing data.
The Greenback had been strengthening since the start of the day, supported primarily by the war in the Middle East. Escalation in the region boosts demand for safe-haven assets, and the US Dollar benefits from its global reserve currency status and deep liquidity. This defensive positioning pushed the US Dollar Index (DXY) toward 98.70 at the time of press, gaining 1.10% for the day.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) eased slightly to 52.4 in February from 52.6 in January. Although the headline figure edged lower, it beats the market consensus of 51.8 and remains comfortably above the 50 threshold, signaling ongoing expansion in the manufacturing sector.
Details of the report further support the US Dollar. The Prices Paid Index jumped sharply to 70.5 from 59, pointing to renewed cost pressures in the production pipeline. Meanwhile, the Employment Index improved to 48.8 but remains in contraction territory. The strong rise in input prices reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will remain cautious in considering any near-term rate cuts.
The release of the ISM data therefore acts as a catalyst that reinforces an already bullish trend in the US Dollar. Rather than triggering a reversal, the figures validate the existing upward move, encouraging additional buying interest in the Greenback.
In Switzerland, Real Retail Sales declined by 1.1% YoY in January after a revised 2.8% surge in December, missing expectations of a 2.7% increase, while the SVME Purchasing Managers Index fell to 47.4 in February from 48.8 in January, also below forecasts for a rise to 50.
In this environment, USD/CHF continues to advance as the stronger US Dollar outweighs the traditional safe-haven appeal of the Swiss Franc (CHF). The pair’s rise reflects both geopolitical-driven flows into the US Dollar and macroeconomic data that underpin the currency’s resilience at the start of the week.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 1.21% | 0.85% | 1.03% | 0.51% | 0.83% | 1.34% | 1.62% | |
| EUR | -1.21% | -0.36% | -0.18% | -0.68% | -0.37% | 0.14% | 0.41% | |
| GBP | -0.85% | 0.36% | 0.15% | -0.33% | -0.01% | 0.50% | 0.77% | |
| JPY | -1.03% | 0.18% | -0.15% | -0.49% | -0.18% | 0.34% | 0.61% | |
| CAD | -0.51% | 0.68% | 0.33% | 0.49% | 0.32% | 0.82% | 1.10% | |
| AUD | -0.83% | 0.37% | 0.01% | 0.18% | -0.32% | 0.51% | 0.78% | |
| NZD | -1.34% | -0.14% | -0.50% | -0.34% | -0.82% | -0.51% | 0.27% | |
| CHF | -1.62% | -0.41% | -0.77% | -0.61% | -1.10% | -0.78% | -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).
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