Swiss franc regains against dollar after ECB

03 Dec, 2005

The franc regained some ground against the dollar on Friday, a day after the European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates for the first time in five years boosted the dollar.
The ECB's move had strengthened the dollar primarily against the euro but also against other currencies on Thursday as a tepid outlook for the euro zone indicated the dollar's rate advantage could remain intact after the hike.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the central bank was not about to rush into a series of rapid further increases after it lifted rates by 0.25 percentage point as expected.
The dollar fell to 1.3181/84 Swiss francs, compared to levels around 1.3210 francs late on Thursday. The euro traded at 1.5456/69 francs from 1.5461 francs.
Earlier on Thursday, the Swiss franc had shot up against the dollar and euro after data showed the Swiss economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter and the manufacturing sector expanded more strongly than forecast.
The data cemented views that the Swiss National Bank will raise interest rates later this month for the first time since September 2004.

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