US dollar slid to one-month lows against the Swiss franc on trading Friday, as safe haven demand for the franc was boosted due to a decline in Asian shares, while yesterdays mixed data from the United States still weighed upon demand for the greenback.
USD/CHF slid to a session low at 0.9269 at 8:15 GMT, the pairs lowest point since June 21st, after which consolidation followed at 0.9278. Support was expected in the range 0.9230-0.9250, while resistance was to be encountered in the zone 0.9305-0.9325.
Asian stocks registered a drop, with Japanese shares retreating at the largest pace in six weeks. Swiss shares also lost ground, decreasing to a three-week lows ahead of the US report, regarding consumer confidence. “Once again the Swiss franc is sought as a haven,” Martin Furrer at Luzerner Kantonalbank in Lucerne, Switzerland, said in a note to clients, cited by Bloomberg. “A weak Japanese equity market gave our country’s currency an additional upward push this morning.”
In the mean time, market players remained cautious, following the mixed data from the United States, released on Thursday. The Labor Department in the country stated that initial jobless claims rose by 7 000 to reach 343 000 during the week ended on July 20th 2013. Results during the preceding week were revised up to 336 000 from 334 000 previously. This indicator seemed to put larger weight upon the demand for the greenback, despite the stability, demonstrated by durable goods orders. It was shown that they rose by 4.2% in June in comparison with preliminary estimates of a 1.3% rise, while in May the value of the indicator was revised up to an increase by 5.2% from a 3.6% rise previously.
Elsewhere, the franc was trading higher against the euro as well, with EUR/CHF cross retreated 0.20% to 1.2321 at 12:00 GMT. On the other hand, GBP/CHF remained almost unchanged, as the pair ticked down 0.01%, trading at 1.4310 at 12:01 GMT.
Later in the trading day the United States was expected to release data on the final reading of University of Michigan Consumer Confidence index, as better than projected results may heighten the appeal of the US dollar.
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