The Swiss franc came under pressure versus major currencies on Monday, echoing a fall in the yen, as a rebound in equity markets eased fears about investors cutting back on riskier investments.
Stock market resilience has sharpened some investors' appetite for risk, which may deprive the franc of some of its safe haven appeal while also spurring so-called carry trades, using low-yielding currencies like the yen and the franc as cheap funding for higher-yielding assets.
The franc was some 0.2 percent lower versus the dollar at 1.2086 francs per dollar from around 1.2069 francs per dollar seen late on Friday. The franc was also slightly weaker against the euro at 1.6081 francs per euro from levels near 1.6071 francs per euro seen late on Friday.
"These days, the euro-franc must be the easiest currency pair to track, as it follows almost one-to-one the moves of equity markets. Whenever the slightest uncertainty creeps into equity markets the cross trades lower," UBS economist Reto Huenerwadel said in a research note.