- USD/CHF clings to gains near 0.8000 as investors expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady in the January policy meeting.
- The US inflation remained steady in December.
- The SNB is unlikely to make any monetary policy adjustment in the near term.
The USD/CHF pair holds onto gains near the monthly high of 0.8000 during the late Asian trading session on Thursday. The Swiss Franc pair trades firmly as the US Dollar continues to outperform on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause its monetary-easing cycle this month.
At the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, ticks up to near 99.17. The DXY is close to its monthly high of 99.26 posted last week.
US Dollar Price Last 7 Days
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies last 7 days. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.36% | 0.26% | 1.11% | 0.33% | 0.67% | 0.68% | 0.41% | |
| EUR | -0.36% | -0.10% | 0.76% | -0.01% | 0.31% | 0.32% | 0.05% | |
| GBP | -0.26% | 0.10% | 0.87% | 0.08% | 0.41% | 0.42% | 0.15% | |
| JPY | -1.11% | -0.76% | -0.87% | -0.78% | -0.43% | -0.45% | -0.69% | |
| CAD | -0.33% | 0.01% | -0.08% | 0.78% | 0.36% | 0.35% | 0.10% | |
| AUD | -0.67% | -0.31% | -0.41% | 0.43% | -0.36% | 0.01% | -0.26% | |
| NZD | -0.68% | -0.32% | -0.42% | 0.45% | -0.35% | -0.01% | -0.27% | |
| CHF | -0.41% | -0.05% | -0.15% | 0.69% | -0.10% | 0.26% | 0.27% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the Fed is certain to leave interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.50%-3.75% in the January policy meeting. In the last three policy meetings, the Fed delivered three interest rate cuts of 25 basis points (bps) amid weak job market conditions.
The speculation for the Fed keeping interest rates steady this month has intensified, following the release of the United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for December. The CPI report showed that price pressures remained sticky.
Additionally, the imposition of 25% tariffs on the import of some advanced computing chips by the White House, which includes the Nvidia H200 AI processor and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, has also improved the US Dollar’s appeal.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Franc (CHF) trades broadly calm as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is unlikely to make any adjustment in its current monetary policy stance. The SNB holds interest rates at 0% as inflation in the Swiss region has remained low. The Swiss central bank is also keeping pushing hopes of negative interest rates, citing that the ultra-dovish stance will be unfavorable for depositors and pensioners.
