The Swiss franc consolidated gains on Friday, trading close to Thursday's new 17-month highs after a Swiss National Bank policy maker said firms and consumers should prepare for a return to foreign exchange rates set by markets. The franc spiked higher following the release of the maiden speech by SNB board member Jean-Pierre Danthine, who also said Swiss interest rates cannot stay ultra-low forever.
"New SNB Board member Danthine managed to make quite an impression on the markets in his first speech," said UBS strategist Beat Siegenthaler in a research note. "As soon as Reuters posted the key FX headline from his remarks, the euro franc dropped like a stone." In the hour that followed the Danthine speech, the Swissie hit 1.4352 francs per euro, its highest mark since October 2008 when, in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, investors fled to the perceived safety of the franc.
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