Swiss franc gains as US rate hikes seen ending

20 Apr, 2006

The Swiss franc gained ground against the dollar in early European trade on Wednesday as the US currency was pressured by the view that a cycle of interest rate rises by the US Federal Reserve was coming to an end.
The dollar hit a seven-month low against the euro earlier in the session, extending losses made after minutes of the Federal Reserve's March meeting suggested that the central bank was close to ending a two-year run of raising interest rates.
The dollar also slipped to a fresh three-month trough against the Swiss franc, stung by the minutes and also by softer-than-expected data for US producer prices and housing starts.
The dollar traded at 1.2698/2702 francs early on Wednesday, compared with 1.2735/38 late on Tuesday, and just above a low of 1.2664 francs seen earlier in the session.
The euro was trading in line with Tuesday's closing levels at around 1.5675/79 francs, having recovered from the lows of the previous session of around 1.5631 francs.

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