Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar declined against the Swiss franc on Tuesday, dropping to a three-week low as risk aversion arising from escalating violence in North Africa and the Middle East drove investors towards the safe haven franc.
USD/CHF hit 0.9408 during European morning trade, the pair’s lowest since February 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9418, slumping 0.53%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9394, the low of February 3 and short-term resistance at 0.9504, the daily high.
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In Libya, violent clashes between police and protesters spread to Tripoli as the nation’s long ruling leader, Muammar Qaddafi appeared to lose control of some eastern parts of the country to anti-regime forces, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to Al-Jazeera, military warplanes had fired on anti-government demonstrators overnight, while Al Arabiya television said 160 died in violence in Tripoli.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Federal Statistics Office said earlier Tuesday that the nation’s trade balance widened to CHF1.96 billion in January, compared to a revised surplus of CHF1.26 billion in December.
Economists had expected the trade balance surplus to widen to CHF1.30 billion in January.
The Swissie was also up against the euro, with EUR/CHF dropping 0.81% to hit a three-week low of 1.2844.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on consumer confidence compiled by the Conference Board as well as industry data on house prices and a report on manufacturing activity in Richmond.
ForexPros.com
