Dollar Demand Grows, As the Swiss Franc Weakens

As markets open during the US session, the dollar is picking up some positive momentum. However, overall trading is a bit sluggish. Today’s economic calendar is almost empty, and central bankers’ statements are mostly ignored. Together with the greenback, sterling is currently a firmer currency. The Swiss Franc, along with commodity currencies, has had the lowest performance. As the dollar strengthens, attention will shift to a near-term temporary top against other major currencies.

As reported in the news, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams stated on Monday that issues like access to central bank accounts need to be front and center. “Money market funds and treasury markets can lose liquidity in times of stress,” Williams added. “Demand for the US dollar in paper currency is growing.”

These remarks do not appear to be affecting greenback’s strength against its key competitors. DXY is attempting to break above the recent consolidative trend and is flirting with the important resistance level of 92.00. The US Dollar Index was up 0.12% on the day at 91.88 at the time of writing.

Dollar Stable As Swiss Franc Weakens

Swiss National Bank board member Andrea Maechler said the central bank is “not yet close to” normalizing, as “expansionary monetary policy is necessary.” She added that “the negative rate minus -0.75% and interventions are needed to ease the pressure on the franc as needed.” The bank still believes inflation “remains below 1%,” labor utilization “below possible,” and the franc “remains highly valued,” she said. Following these comments, the USD/CHF pair moved marginally higher, closing at 0.9214, up 0.15 percent on the day.

The USD/CHF pair has made a significant recovery today, however, it remains below the temporary high of 0.9237. First, the intraday bias stays neutral. Breaking above 0.9237 will resume the rally from 0.8925 to 0.9262, the 61.8 percent retracement of 0.9471 to 0.8925. A sustained break there will open the door for a retest of the 0.9471 resistance level. On the downside, a persistent break of the 4-hour support level now at 0.9144 will result in a retest of the 0.8925 low.

DESPITE A CAUTIOUS MINDSET, the US dollar strengthens, but further gains are limited due to lower Treasury yields. Meanwhile, the EUR/USD stays on the back foot below 1.2000, closely tracking the price movement of the US dollar in the face of a light EU and US economic calendar.