USD/CHF bounces back from 0.8900 as USD rebounds, Fed policy in focus
- USD/CHF recovers from 0.8900, tracing the US Dollar’s bounce back.
- The Fed policy remains in the spotlight, in which it is expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps to 4.25%-4.50%.
- On Thursday, the SNB unexpectedly cut its key borrowing rate by 50 bps to 0.5%.
The USD/CHF pair rebounds from the round-level support of 0.8900 in the European session on Monday. The Swiss Franc pair bounces back as the US Dollar (USD) recovers its intraday losses and turns positive, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) ticking higher around 107.00.
Investors brace for a high volatility in the USD counter as the Federal Reserve (Fed) is scheduled to announce its last interest rate decision of the year on Wednesday. Market participants will keenly focus on the Fed’s dot plot and the inflation outlook for 2025, with investors remaining confident that the central bank will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50%.
The Fed’s dot plot will show where the Federal Funds Rate will head in the medium and long term. According to a Bloomberg survey, the Fed is expected to cut interest rates three times in 2025. The Fed’s policy-easing cycle would be more gradual next year as economists worry more about rising upside risks to inflation than downside risks to employment.
In today’s session, investors will focus on the flash United States (US) S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for December, which will be published at 14:45 GMT. The PMI report is expected to show moderate growth in the overall business activity.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Franc (CHF) remains broadly under pressure as investors expect the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to return to an ultra-loose policy trajectory to avoid growing risks to inflation, undershooting the bank’s target of 2%.
The SNB surprisingly reduced its key borrowing rates by 50 bps to 0.5% on Thursday, while investors anticipated a usual 25 bps interest rate reduction.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. Following the Second World War, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971, when the Gold Standard went away.