USD/CHF ticks up to near 0.7890 as US Dollar recovers
- USD/CHF ticks higher to near 0.7890, following the US Dollar’s recovery.
- The Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates by the year-end.
- The SNB will likely intervene against the Swiss Franc’s excessive appreciation.
The USD/CHF pair edges higher to near 0.7890 during the early European trading session on Friday. The Swiss Franc pair gains as the US Dollar (USD) bounces back after a sharp sell-off the previous day.
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 Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.25% | 0.18% | 0.43% | -0.05% | -0.06% | -0.15% | 0.12% | |
| EUR | -0.25% | -0.08% | 0.18% | -0.30% | -0.31% | -0.41% | -0.13% | |
| GBP | -0.18% | 0.08% | 0.25% | -0.23% | -0.23% | -0.33% | -0.05% | |
| JPY | -0.43% | -0.18% | -0.25% | -0.45% | -0.48% | -0.57% | -0.28% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | 0.30% | 0.23% | 0.45% | -0.02% | -0.10% | 0.17% | |
| AUD | 0.06% | 0.31% | 0.23% | 0.48% | 0.02% | -0.09% | 0.18% | |
| NZD | 0.15% | 0.41% | 0.33% | 0.57% | 0.10% | 0.09% | 0.28% | |
| CHF | -0.12% | 0.13% | 0.05% | 0.28% | -0.17% | -0.18% | -0.28% |
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).
At the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.3% higher to near 99.45.
The US Dollar rebounds as the Federal Reserve (Fed) is anticipated to keep interest rates on hold during the course of the year.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of the Fed holding interest rates steady or above the current range of 3.50%-3.75% in the December meeting are almost 72%.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Franc (CHF) is expected to remain on tenterhooks as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has expressed willingness to intervene in financial markets against excessive appreciation in the domestic currency.
“We have increased our readiness to intervene in forex markets to dampen rapid Swiss Franc appreciation,” SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel said in the press conference on Thursday after the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 0%.
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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