Swiss franc at 18-month lows ahead of trade

11 Nov, 2005

The Swiss franc continued to trade near 18-month lows against the dollar ahead of US trade figures, due out later on Thursday, that the market hopes will provide short-term direction for the currency.
The market was focused on how much soaring energy prices had boosted the deficit in September. If the figure is worse than expected, that may prompt profit-taking on the dollar's recent surge, traders said.
The dollar last traded at 1.3109/11 Swiss francs from 1.3140/43 in late trading in Europe on Wednesday. The euro stood unchanged at 1.5412/17 francs from 1.5412/17 francs.
In Switzerland, consumer sentiment data is due at 0645 GMT. Market watchers expect the figure will point to a further economic recovery and give a further clue as to when the Swiss National Bank will next raise domestic interest rates.

Read Comments