The Swiss franc rose against the dollar on Wednesday as market participants waited to see the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting expected later today. The franc rose 0.6 percent against the dollar compared to the New York close, trading at 1.1344 per dollar.
"The Fed is expected to opt for no change in interest rates this evening. The economic outlook still seems to be gloomy," said Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Andreas Kueffer, pointing to a fall in US consumer confidence in January. The Fed concludes a two-day policy meeting later in the day and could unveil new steps aimed at easing the credit crunch.
The franc was 0.3 percent lower against the euro at 1.5075 per euro. "EUR/CHF held around 1.50 yesterday and should take direction from risk appetite in coming days and weeks," said Credit Suisse analyst Martin McMahon. "Our eventual bias is for a grind higher into the low to mid-1.50s."