Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar rebounded from a record low against the Swiss franc on in thin holiday trade on Monday, following news that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden had been killed by U.S. Special Forces in Pakistan.
USD/CHF clawed back up from 0.8624, the pair’s all-time low to hit 0.8680 during European morning trade, gaining 0.31%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 0.8624, the days low and short-term resistance at 0.8759, last Thursday’s high.
The dollar was boosted by the perception that that bin Laden’s death could make the U.S. less subject to further terrorist attacks, but some analysts remained skeptical of whether it would reduce the security risks facing the U.S.
Also Monday, official data showed that Swiss retail sales declined unexpectedly in March. The federal statistics office said retail sales fell by an annualized 0.2%, after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.8% in February. Analysts had expected retail sales to increase at annual rate of 2.3% in March.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in Switzerland unexpectedly declined in April. The Swiss SVME purchasing managers’ association and Credit Suisse said that its purchasing managers’ index fell to a seasonally adjusted 58.4 last month, down from 59.3 in March. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 59.8 in April.
The Swissie was also down against the euro, with EUR/CHF rising 0.36% to hit 1.2855.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management was to publish its manufacturing PMI.
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