The Swiss franc eased on the dollar early on Monday as the greenback bounced back from losses on Friday over disappointing US payrolls data.
The dollar traded at 1.2780/90 francs from 1.2703/09 late on Friday, still well below a three-month high of around 1.3075 francs seen last week.
The euro firmed slightly to 1.5795/10 francs from 1.5777/82 on Friday. Traders said euro/Swiss was at the moment a side-show to the dollar end of the market.
Dealers said that with interest rates seen as the major driver behind currency flows for now, there was not much demand for the low-yielding franc given that the odds of a Swiss central bank rate rise have been receding in recent months.
While the latest Swiss economic growth data have confirmed the export-dependent economy gained speed toward the end of last year as demand from trade partners picked up, the absence of price pressures means there is little need for higher rates.
Economists said the latest jobs data, showing the jobless rate fell to 4.2 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January, was not yet a sign of a clear labour market rebound.
They said employers had not yet ditched the habit developed in the recent double-dip recession of trimming staff and cutting costs to offset sagging sales despite a pickup in investment and a bounce in consumer confidence towards the end of last year.
Comments
Comments are closed.