The Swiss franc rose slightly against the dollar and the euro on Thursday, recovering from a dip after the Swiss National Bank signalled that it was not yet time to raise interest rates. The dollar was last trading at 1.1818/24 francs, compared to levels of around 1.1831/41 francs in late European trading on Wednesday while the euro changed hands at 1.5463/66 francs, down from 1.5484/89 francs. The Swiss franc had lost some ground to the euro earlier in the previous session after SNB board member Philipp Hildebrand said that it was too soon to talk of interest rate increases in Switzerland.
"After the latest SNB comments, the euro-franc traded higher, backed by slightly wider implied 3-month euro-franc rate spreads and higher stock prices," UBS analysts wrote in their daily markets bulletin.
The SNB kept borrowing costs on hold in December over concerns about the effects of a weak dollar and dwindling growth in its key trading partners, and following two consecutive rate rises earlier in the year when growth was expected to pick up.