USD/CHF refreshes weekly high around 0.7970 as US Dollar outperforms
- USD/CHF extends its upside to near 0.7970 amid strength in the US Dollar.
- Fed’s Daly stated that the interest rate cut move was aimed at bolstering the job market.
- Investors await Fed Powell’s speech and the SNB’s monetary policy decision.
The USD/CHF pair posts a fresh weekly high around 0.7970 during the late Asian trading session on Monday. The Swiss Franc pair strengthens as the US Dollar (USD) outperforms its peers over the past few days since the monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday.
During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades near a fresh weekly high around 97.80.
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 New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.00% | 0.66% | 0.42% | -0.29% | 0.72% | 1.57% | 0.05% | |
| EUR | -0.00% | 0.69% | 0.35% | -0.29% | 0.76% | 1.53% | 0.04% | |
| GBP | -0.66% | -0.69% | -0.26% | -0.97% | 0.07% | 0.84% | -0.75% | |
| JPY | -0.42% | -0.35% | 0.26% | -0.74% | 0.35% | 1.14% | -0.37% | |
| CAD | 0.29% | 0.29% | 0.97% | 0.74% | 1.13% | 1.83% | 0.22% | |
| AUD | -0.72% | -0.76% | -0.07% | -0.35% | -1.13% | 0.76% | -0.73% | |
| NZD | -1.57% | -1.53% | -0.84% | -1.14% | -1.83% | -0.76% | -1.57% | |
| CHF | -0.05% | -0.04% | 0.75% | 0.37% | -0.22% | 0.73% | 1.57% |
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).
The US Dollar gained sharply after the Fed’s monetary policy announcement, in which it reduced interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.00%-4.25% amid a slowing United States (US) job market. The Fed also signaled more than one interest rate cut in the remainder of the year.
On Friday, San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daly also acknowledged that weakening job demand led officials to start the monetary-easing campaign. Daly said that the Fed's move to cut rates was to “try and bolster a weakening labor market”, noting a pointed softening of the US economy over the past year.
Going forward, investors will focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Outlook Luncheon on Tuesday. Investors would like to get more cues about the Fed’s monetary policy outlook.
This week, the major trigger for the Swiss Franc (CHF) will be the interest rate decision by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Thursday. The SNB is expected to hold interest rates at zero as the economy struggles to push inflation higher. Investors would keenly focus on cues about whether the SNB could push interest rates into a negative territory in the near term.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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