The Swiss franc on Friday traded in a tight range against the euro, within sight of intervention levels, and continued to inch away from its high this month against the dollar hit on November 11. Swiss National Bank Chairman Jean-Pierre Roth is scheduled to speak at the University of Fribourg later in the day, and market participants said they were looking to his speech for cues.
"As we approach 1.50 there's the risk of intervention by the Swiss National Bank," said Marcus Hettinger, an analyst with Credit Suisse, saying he would be watching Roth's speech closely for any remarks on rates or monetary policy. Hettinger said however he expected the Swiss currency would likely stay rangebound against both the dollar and the euro throughout the session. The franc was flat against the euro, trading at 1.5116 per euro. The franc eased against the dollar to 1.0137 per dollar. It hit a peak of 1.0033 on November 11, its highest this month, according to Reuters data.