The dollar recovered on Friday from its declines the previous day on the back of solid US growth figures, while the Swiss franc fell sharply on market jitters of suspected intervention. Traders said the market was nervous about intervention by or on behalf of the Swiss National Bank to keep the franc's strength in check because the euro had fallen to levels around 1.5080 francs where the SNB had already intervened this year.
The Swiss National Bank declined to comment. The euro held above a 2-1/2-week low against the dollar after it rose on Thursday, when data showing the US economy grew for the first time in more than a year had raised optimism about the global economic recovery and stoked risk appetite.
"The market is waiting to see if the rise in risk appetite is durable," said Jeremy Stretch, strategist at Rabobank in London. "The recovery is continuing, but there are enough question marks to keep the market worried," he said, adding that a comatose job market and the wind down of the "cash for clunkers" scheme raised questions about whether US growth will continue. By 1209 GMT, the euro fell 0.2 percent on the day at $1.4810. However, it managed to tread above $1.4681 hit the previous day before the US GDP data.
A reading of US manufacturing activity in Chicago is due later in the day, as well as a final reading of consumer sentiment to better gauge whether the economy is emerging from recession. "We may see some more unwinding of risk ahead of some big events next week, but as long as the data hold up then the risk trade is likely to hold up too," said Paul Robson, currency strategist at RBS in London.
The Swiss franc fell as jitters were sparked after the euro had fallen to around 1.5080 francs, around levels that the SNB has already intervened this year to prevent further strength in the franc. The euro then jumped as high as 1.5180 francs, according to electronic trading platform EBS, its highest since mid-October, and the dollar jumped to 1.0242 francs from around 1.0175 francs.
Higher-risk currencies including the Australian and New Zealand dollars slipped around 0.4 percent versus the dollar, but analysts said losses may be limited, particularly if more signs of US recovery emerge. "Higher-risk currencies are down slightly today, but yesterday's very positive GDP number has given support to the risk trade, and that should carry over today and into next week," said Sverre Holbek, currency strategist at Danske in Copenhagen.
The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 91.25 yen, while the euro fell 0.3 percent to 135.17 yen. Market participants waited to see if yen selling would materialise from Japanese investment trusts given that a new launch drew 189.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) from Japanese retail investors on Friday, the year's biggest first-day launch for a single series of Japanese toushin mutual funds.