The Swiss franc rose on Friday as investors unwound long euro positions in the approach to the year-end, helped by rumours of a coup in Pakistan that were quickly denied and by stop-loss orders which propelled it up. In turbulence that also sent the dollar and other currencies down against the low-yielding yen, the euro fell to 1.4910 francs, its weakest level since March when the Swiss National Bank intervened to sell francs after announcing steps to fight deflation.
The dollar remained under pressure but the euro later recovered to stand just 0.3 percent lower on the day at 1.4968 francs, with traders edgy the central bank might opt to intervene later to bring it above the 1.50 francs threshold. The yen also later gave up the steepest of its gains on crosses such as the Australian dollar perceived as riskier trades, which have also been hit against the dollar this week as investors close out long positions for the year.
"I get the impression that market players are not wasting time to clean up their positions as we have only a few more days," a hedge fund sales trader for a Japanese bank said. "Today's move in euro/Swiss, dollar/yen and cross/yen are all part of that last-minute liquidation." The Swiss franc had gained on Thursday after a one-year tender by the European Central Bank, as banks in the eurozone sold euros to buy francs for Swiss franc-denominated loans.
Yen crosses fell in early trade as a weak day on Wall Street set the market up for closing out riskier positions. Talk of a coup in Pakistan fuelled that sentiment, helping send the euro even lower and triggering sell orders below 1.50 francs. A spokesman for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari dismissed the coup rumours that started after a government minister suspected of corruption was stopped from leaving the country, saying there was no coup.
"Stops below 1.50 francs accelerated falls in a market with low liquidity and spurred risk avoiding trade at the year-end," said Tomohiro Nishida, treasury department manager at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company. The net result of a series of position liquidations was the dollar retreating from three-month highs hit the previous day.
The euro, which struggled on Thursday after S&P became the second rating agency this month to downgrade Greece, rose 0.3 percent to $1.4383 after falling to $1.4304 the previous day, its lowest since early September. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's performance against other six major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to 77.498, off Thursday's high of 77.943, its highest since early September.
Yen crosses fluctuated but came off the steepest of their earlier lows on short-covering. The euro was steady on the day at 128.90 yen, sterling slipped 0.2 percent and the Australian dollar fell 0.2 percent. The yen showed little reaction to the decision, and the dollar was down 0.4 percent at 89.62 yen.
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