Swiss franc down as dollar recovers

05 Aug, 2004

The Swiss franc eased against the dollar in early trade on Wednesday as the greenback regained strength after easing on softer-than-expected US data, which left the market confident US rates would only rise gradually.
The dollar rose to 1.2814/18 francs compared to levels around 1.2781/83 late on Tuesday in Europe. The euro traded at 1.5412/16 francs compared with levels around 1.5407/12 francs.
US consumer spending took its biggest dive in June since September 2001, dropping 0.7 percent after rising one percent the month before.
The consumer spending figures broadly confirmed the market's view that the US Federal Reserve would raise rates by 0.25 percentage point at its policy-setting meeting next week.
In Switzerland, data on Tuesday showed inflation was in check, with prices falling 1.0 percent in July from June.

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