Swiss franc weakens against dollar

25 Oct, 2006

The Swiss franc was weaker against the dollar and the euro in early trade on Tuesday as markets await a speech from Swiss National Bank Chairman Jean-Pierre Roth later in the day.
Investors are also bracing themselves for the Federal Reserve to repeat concerns about inflationary pressures at a two-day meeting, which is due to end on Wednesday.
The franc was down 0.15 percent against the US currency at 1.2685 per dollar by 0655 GMT. The Swiss currency was down 0.06 percent against the euro, at 1.5902 per euro.
Roth's speech could give traders clues as to the direction of the SNB's interest rate policy.
A fifth consecutive quarterly SNB interest rate hike by 25 basis points in December is seen almost as a certainty among SNB watchers, and many analysts still see another rate hike in March.
Markets will also closely watch KOF leading indicator of business sentiment due on Friday. The indicator is set to fall for the third month running in October, according to a Reuters poll, cementing a view that the economy will slow.

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