Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar edged lower against the Swiss franc on Thursday, ahead of an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank, amid expectations that a euro zone rate rise would also give the Swiss National Bank room to tighten policy.
USD/CHF hit 0.9160 during European late morning trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9177, easing down 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9125, the low of March 31 and resistance at 0.9294, Wednesday’s high and a three-day high.
Government data on Wednesday said that Swiss consumer prices rose 0.6% last month, taking the annual inflation rate in March to 1.0%, well above the 0.6% forecast by analysts.
The report said the increase was primarily due to higher prices for clothes and shoes, as well as more expensive oil, which rose 4.9% on the month.
The SNB said it would be closely watching the ECB’s rate decision later in the day, as the debt crisis in the single currency bloc remained one of the greatest risk factors for the Swiss economy.
The Swissie was also higher against the euro, with EUR/CHF shedding 0.56% to hit 1.3096.
Also Thursday, the U.S. was to publish a weekly report on initial jobless claims.
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