Forexpros – The U.S. dollar was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc on Monday, amid uncertainty following the death of North-Korean leader Kim Jong il while markets eyed a conference call of European officials later in the day.
USD/CHF hit 0.9400 during European morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9360, inching down 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9246, the low of December 12 and resistance at 0.9477, the high of December 13.
Concerns over geopolitical instability in northeast Asia escalated earlier amid uncertainty over the future leadership of North Korea, supporting the dollar.
Sentiment also weakened amid concerns over mass credit rating downgrades across the euro zone lingered after Fitch Ratings put six euro zone nations on watch for downgrades on Friday, saying a “comprehensive solution” to the region’s debt crisis was “technically and politically beyond reach.”
Moody’s cut Belgium by two notches to Aa3 from Aa1, citing risks to economic growth and the costs of bailouts of banks such as Dexia.
Meanwhile, the Swissie remained supported after the Swiss National Bank kept its minimum exchange rate target of 1.20 per euro unchanged last week and reiterated its pledge to defend the level with the “utmost determination.”
The Swissie was down against the euro with EUR/CHF shedding 0.12%, to hit 1.2194.
Later in the day, European Union leaders were to hold talks to discuss measures to resolve the debt crisis, including the possibility of European nations lending EUR200 billion to the International Monetary Fund.
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