By FX Empire.com

The USD/CHF advanced for the second week as the undergoing tensions stemming from the euro area enhanced demand on the dollar as a refuge.

The pair was affected by the general sentiment which was fueled with fears amid political instability and financial turbulences in Greece and Italy.

Tensions intensified as Italian bond yields rose to the highest level since the birth of the euro in 1999 after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he will step down after the approval of austerity measures needed to cut the country’s huge budget shortfall. Yet, worries eased to some extent after the formation of an interim government became very close as former European commissioner Mario Monti emerged as a new leader for this government.

On the flip side, the nightmare of Greek default remained predominant till the appointment of Lucas Papandemos, a former ECB vice-president, to lead a new crisis coalition government.

This week, the Swiss economy will release data of low relevance, while in the U.S., the main focus will be on housing and inflation data.

The release of the data this week will be as follows:

Monday Nov 14:

As of 08:15 GMT, the Swiss economy will release the only data for the week which is producer and import prices for the month of July, while the U.S. lacks economic fundamentals. The pair is predicted to follow the general trend in market.

Tuesday Nov 15:

The main focus will be on inflation data with the release of U.S. PPI at 13:30 GMT, where the annual reading excluding food and energy will rise to 2.9% from 2.5%, according to median forecasts. At the same time, retail sales less and empire manufacturing will be available.

Wednesday Nov 16:

U.S. MBA mortgage applications for Nov. 11 will be available at 11:00 GMT. As of 13:30 GMT, CPI for the year ended Oct. is estimated to retreat to 3.6% from 3.9%. Thereafter, net long-term TIC flows and industrial production will be due at 14:00 GMT and 14:15 GMT respectively.

Thursday Nov 17:

At 10:00 GMT, the Swiss economy will release Credit Suisse Zew survey (expectations) for the month of Nov.

For the US, eyes will be on a batch of US data including housing data with the release housing starts and building permits for Oct. at 13:30 GMT as it will provide evidence about the status of the housing market that triggered the 2008 crisis. Housing starts are predicted to retreat to 610,000 from 658,000 a month earlier, while building permits is set to soar to 600,000 from 594,000. At the same time the US, initial jobless claims for the week ending Nov. 11 and continuing claims for the week ended Nov. 4 will be available. Thereafter, particularly at 15:00 GMT, Philadelphia Fed will be out.

Friday Nov 18:

The weekends with the release of no data from the Swiss economy while the U.S. will release leading indicators which may show a rise to 0.5% in the month of Oct. from the prior reading of 0.2%.

Originally posted here