USD/CHF gains momentum above the 0.8800 mark, eyes on the Swiss Trade data, Fed’s Powell

USD/CHF gains momentum above the 0.8800 mark, eyes on the Swiss Trade data, Fed’s Powell

Time Stamp: August 20, 2023 8:19 PM
Source Node: 2224730

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  • USD/CHF surges above the 0.8800 barrier, bolstered by the upbeat US economic data.
  • The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) would arrange financial support to resolve local government debt worries.
  • Investors will monitor the Swiss Trade data, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell Speaks.

The USD/CHF pair hold positive ground around 0.8825 during the early Asian session on Monday. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the value of USD against six other major currencies, consolidates its gains around 103.40. Market players will keep an eye on the Swiss Trade data and the annual event at the Jackson Hole Symposium later this week.

The upbeat US data last week might convince the Federal Reserve (Fed) to tighten monetary policy further. Nonetheless, the minutes of the FOMC highlighted that inflation remained unacceptably high. The Fed officials see considerable inflationary concerns, and further rate rises may be required to bring inflation to the target. Officials from the Federal Reserve agreed that future rate decisions will be dependent on incoming data, but that they would be more cautious in the coming months. The strong US data and less dovish stance from Fed boosts the US Dollar higher for the fifth consecutive week and weigh on the Swiss Franc.

On the Swiss franc front, markets turn cautious following China’s economic woes. Evergrande, China’s second-largest real estate company filed for bankruptcy in a US court under Chapter 15 last week. On Sunday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said that China would arrange financial support to resolve local government debt worries, according to Reuters. However, the lack of development about additional government support might weigh on the risk sentiment, which benefits the safe-haven Swiss Franc and act as a headwind for the USD/CHF pair.

Moving on, market players will keep an eye on the Swiss Trade data due on Tuesday. The key event of the week will be the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell Speaks at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. The event is scheduled for August 24 to 26. These remarks may have a greater influence than economic data and could give a clear direction to the USD/CHF pair. Also, the headline surrounding China’s debt crisis and real-estate woes remains in focus.

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