Key Moments
- USD/CHF hovered around 0.7750 on Wednesday, showing little change and remaining locked in a tight trading range.
- ADP data indicated U.S. private payrolls increased by only 22,000 in January, far below expectations of 48,000, while annual wage growth held at 4.5%.
- SNB leadership reiterated a vigilant stance on inflation, keeping price stability at the center of policy considerations.
USD/CHF Stalls as Traders Weigh Mixed U.S. Data
USD/CHF traded essentially flat around 0.7750 on Wednesday at the time of writing, with the pair showing an almost unchanged intraday performance. The exchange rate remained confined to a narrow band as the U.S. Dollar (USD) lacked a clear directional driver following the latest round of mixed U.S. macroeconomic releases.
The Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Employment Change report showed that U.S. private sector employment increased by only 22,000 positions in January, sharply undershooting the market consensus of 48,000. The figure pointed to a gradual loss of momentum in the U.S. labor market, even as annual wage growth held steady at 4.5%.
Fed Expectations Steady Despite Labor Market Disappointment
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major peers, traded without a clear trend as investors reassessed their views on U.S. monetary policy. Data from the CME FedWatch tool indicated that market participants continued to anticipate that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would keep its policy rate unchanged at the March meeting, within the 3.50%-3.75% range. However, the softer employment reading kept alive discussions about how future policy decisions might evolve.
SNB Stays Alert on Inflation Risks as Swiss Franc Trades Mixed
On the Swiss side, the Swiss Franc (CHF) showed a mixed performance across markets. Investors remained focused on the policy outlook for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) against the backdrop of still subdued domestic inflation. Earlier in the week, SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel underlined that maintaining price stability remains the central bank’s primary objective and emphasized the institution’s readiness to act if necessary to address inflation risks.
Upcoming U.S. Services Data in Focus
Market attention now turned to the upcoming releases of the S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) and the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Services PMI later in the day. These indicators were expected to provide additional signals for the U.S. economic outlook and could help shape the next move in the U.S. Dollar and the USD/CHF pair.
U.S. Dollar Performance Against Major Currencies
The table below summarizes the percentage change of the U.S. Dollar (USD) against a selection of major currencies today. According to the data, the USD registered its strongest relative performance versus the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.05% | -0.12% | 0.58% | 0.11% | -0.07% | 0.47% | 0.08% | |
| EUR | -0.05% | -0.17% | 0.54% | 0.07% | -0.12% | 0.42% | 0.03% | |
| GBP | 0.12% | 0.17% | 0.71% | 0.23% | 0.05% | 0.60% | 0.20% | |
| JPY | -0.58% | -0.54% | -0.71% | -0.46% | -0.64% | -0.11% | -0.49% | |
| CAD | -0.11% | -0.07% | -0.23% | 0.46% | -0.19% | 0.36% | -0.03% | |
| AUD | 0.07% | 0.12% | -0.05% | 0.64% | 0.19% | 0.55% | 0.15% | |
| NZD | -0.47% | -0.42% | -0.60% | 0.11% | -0.36% | -0.55% | -0.39% | |
| CHF | -0.08% | -0.03% | -0.20% | 0.49% | 0.03% | -0.15% | 0.39% |
The heat map reflects percentage changes among major currencies. The base currency is selected from the left-hand column, while the quote currency is taken from the top row. For instance, selecting the U.S. Dollar from the left column and moving horizontally to the Japanese Yen cell shows the percentage change for USD (base)/JPY (quote).
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