A tough 3rd quarter for Swiss exchange rates
In the first quarter of 2015, the currency markets experienced major fluctuations as the Swiss National Bank removed the peg against the euro. With many economists predicting that Swiss jobs would come under the pressure, the Switzerland government allowed employers to extend working hours and pay to be cut, whilst at the same time being offered benefits by the Government which would help the employees that were effected. The theory behind the move from the Swiss Government was that a slight drop in pay...
Swiss Franc continues to strengthen against the Pound
The Swiss Franc has continued to strengthen against the Pound in recent weeks and it could be argued that the main trigger for the weakening of the Pound came a few weeks ago when the Bank of England confirmed that they would be keeping interest rates on hold again with a split of 7-2.
The UK has shown relatively poor economic data in the form of UK GDP which came in at the slowest growth since 2012 and inflation has started to fall and this...
Fears surrounding Italian politics strengthens the Swiss Franc
Although some economists aren't predicting the recent bout of CHF strength to remain, the bottom line is that the Swiss Franc has been one of the strongest performing currencies within the G10 recently.
Market traders have been placing bets that the Euro will weaken against the Swiss Franc recently, after the issues surrounding the political leadership in Italy is beginning to spill over into the Euros value. Up until this weekend it had appeared that a populist coalition would take control in Italy with intentions...
Swiss Franc at 2 month high vs the Pound
The Pound has fallen to its lowest level to buy Swiss Francs in two months as the Pound continues to struggle after the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates on hold for the foreseeable future.
About a month ago the Swiss Franc started coming under pressure against a number of different currencies after the Swiss National Bank got rid of the cap that it had previously put in place to stop the CHF from being too strong.
Many expected that the Swiss Franc may...
Will next months vote create volatility for the Swiss Franc?
Next month on the 10th of June there will be a key vote in Switzerland. It's being labelled as 'Vollgeld' and it pertains to whether the Swiss want to reform their monetary system in an unprecedented way.
There hasn't been much talk of this Referendum in the economic world outside of Switzerland because a 'Yes' vote is apparently highly unlikely. I guess there are parallels with the Brexit vote which few expected, so I wouldn't rule out a major move for CHF exchange rates should...
Swiss Franc starts to claw back ground as investors take a shine to the...
The Swiss franc has been one of the poorest performers of all major currencies so far in 2018, losing roughly 5% of value against the Dollar and 3% against Sterling.
It does appear though from signs this week that investors and speculators are starting to look at the currency in a more positive light, and we have seen a slight fightback as the week has progressed.
Swiss economic data has been ok in recent times and although the general view is that we will not see...
Swiss Franc to have a positive end to the week vs the Pound
The Pound has remained fairly range bound against the Swiss Franc during the last couple of weeks as the markets appear to adopting a wait and see approach as to what might happen in the medium to long term.
The Pound fell marginally during this time after the Bank of England once again decided to keep interest rates on hold at a split of 7-2 in favour of keeping the rates the same.
Over the next couple of days there is limited data published both here...
Will the SNB raise interest rates?
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) could be moving forward in their process of raising interest rates according to current reports with the previous Q4 2019 hike predicted to become reality in Q3. This minor shift in expectations is positive for the Swiss Franc and gives the market some news to be targetting and assessing in deciding the value of the CHF.
With interest rates in Switzerland having been at -0.75% since January 2015, the future guidance could see the Franc strengthening as investors price up the possibility...
Poor 2018 for Swiss Franc so far, will the downward trend continue?
A quick glance at a chart showing the Swiss Franc's performance this year makes for simple reading, as the trend is generally downward against all major currency pairs.
There have even been reports of cross-border shopping trips from Switzerland to the surrounding countries declining, as the spending power of the Swiss Franc has diminished quite considerably in the last few months.
At the time of writing the CHF/USD pair are sitting almost exactly on 1.00 which is the lowest level since May of last year. This...
CHF makes gains against Sterling
The Pound has suffered against the Swiss Franc of late, but Sterling still remains only two cents below the highest levels in 18 months. I think this can be put more down to Sterling weakness than Swiss Franc strength.
Could Bank of England rate hike now be off the cards?
A rate hike from the Bank of England (BoE) in May was largely factored into the exchange. Unfortunately following a host of poor data releases, including the worst GDP figures in five years it seems as...
