The Swiss franc soared to a fresh all-time high against the dollar on Thursday, with the greenback broadly under pressure as investors expected the US central bank to weaken monetary policy further. The dollar index, which measures the US unit's strength against a basket of currencies, tumbled to its weakest since December.
The franc was up 0.8 percent against the dollar compared to the New York close, trading at 0.9505 per dollar at 0715 GMT. On dealing system EBS the dollar hit a low of 0.9480. Technical analysts at Commerzbank said they saw a maximum downside target of 0.9350 for dollar-franc. The franc dropped 0.3 percent against the euro, trading at 1.3407 per euro. The Swiss franc, which investors regard as a safe haven, has been rallying against both the euro and the dollar this year as Switzerland escaped from the downturn less bruised than many other big economies.