Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was little changed against the Swiss franc in cautious trade on Thursday, after a moderately successful result at a closely watched Spanish debt auction failed to alleviate concerns over the outlook for the country’s finances.
USD/CHF hit 0.9174 in European late morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9162, inching up 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.9124, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 0.9209, Wednesday’s high.
Market sentiment remained subdued after an auction of Spanish government debt raised slightly more than the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion, while the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds remained below the 6% level.
Spain auctioned EUR1.11 billion of two-year bonds at an average yield of 3.46%, up from 2.06% at a similar auction last month and EUR1.42 billion of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 5.74%, up from 5.33% from a similar auction in March.
The results failed to ease concerns over the outlook for Spain, as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government attempts to reduce one of the largest deficits in the euro zone, amid fears that the economy is entering a recession.
In addition, worries over Spain’s troubled banking sector weighed, after the country’s central bank said Wednesday that the amount of bad loans at domestic banks rose to an 18-year high in February.
The Swissie was steady against the euro, with EUR/CHF dipping 0.01% to hit 1.2017.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on unemployment claims, followed by industry data on existing home sales and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
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