Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was higher against the Swiss franc on Monday, as safe haven demand found support after last week’s European Union summit failed to reassure investors on the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone.
USD/CHF hit 0.9291 during European morning trade, the pair’s highest since December 6; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9292, climbing 0.66%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9164, the low of December 1 and short term resistance at 0.9329, the high of November 25.
All European Union members except the U.K. agreed on Friday to pursue stricter budget rules and to provide up to 200 billion euros in loans to the International Monetary Fund to help tackle the region’s financial crisis.
But markets remained cautious as the new fiscal union was not viewed as the decisive move needed to resolve the euro zone’s debt woes.
Investors were also jittery after Standard &Poor’s placed the credit ratings of 15 euro zone members on negative watch last week and said it would announce any ratings changes “as soon as possible” after Friday’s meeting.
Earlier Monday, Italy’s Treasury sold the full-targeted amount of EUR7 billion of 12-month government bonds at an average yield of 5.95% compared to 6.08% at a previous bond auction last month.
Meanwhile, official data showed that the Swiss employment level rose more-than-expected in the third quarter, but for the first time in two years the employment outlook indicator showed a very slight decline in a year-on-year comparison.
The Swiss Federal Statistics Office said that the number of employed people in Switzerland rose to 4.05 million during the third quarter, after a reading at 4.02 million the previous quarter. Analysts had expected the Swiss employment level to rise to 4.04 million in the third quarter.
Elsewhere, the Swissie was higher against the euro with EUR/CHF declining 0.29%, to hit 1.2331.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on the federal budget balance.
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