The Swiss franc rose against the euro and the dollar but tumbled against the yen on Monday in a nervous market still on edge over falling stock markets.
Market players are awaiting the release of Swiss GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2006 on Tuesday and of February unemployment data on Wednesday but analysts say they are unlikely to have much influence on the market's jittery mood.
The franc was some 0.54 higher against the euro at 1.5971 per euro. It was roughly 0.07 percent firmer against the dollar at 1.2156 per dollar. The franc was 0.81 percent down against the Japanese currency, at 95.09 yen.
The yen has rallied strongly in recent days against major currencies as investors rush to reverse bets against the Japanese currency on nervousness that the carry trade may be unravelling. In carry trades, investors borrow in low-yielding currencies like the yen or the Swiss franc to fund purchases of high-yielding assets.
Meanwhile, Swiss real gross domestic product is seen rising by 0.7 percent, according to a Reuters poll of 17 economists and unemployment in February is seen holding steady. A slew of upbeat economic news raised hopes recently that Switzerland could defy the slowdown in the US economy.
Switzerland's growth indicator KOF ticked up in February for the first time since early summer last year and surveys showed that companies planned to invest more and hire new staff. Markets are pricing in a sixth consecutive quarterly 25 basis points increase on March 15 and one more hike this year.
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