Lower US dollar and strong Swiss franc

The US dollar is lower but Swiss franc is strong in light post-Christmas trade Tuesday.

Dollar is weak because there is not much happening – lack of fresh positive U.S. economic data, a factor that has been a major driver of recent dollar strength. Traders are trimming some of their recent bets ahead of year-end.

On the other hand the Swiss franc is strong today against its major opponents after the release of the Swiss UBS consumption indicator report for November at 2:00 am ET Tuesday in Europe. The franc thus topped a 3-week high against the yes, 2-week high against the dollar and a new multi-month high against the euro. At the same time, the franc recovered from an early Asian session’s 5-day low against the pound.

The UBS consumption indicator for Switzerland rose to 1.28 in November from 0.88 in October, the UBS bank reported. This was the highest level since September 2008, but it remained below its long-term average of 1.5. The consumption indicator in October was revised from 0.87 reported initially.

The Swiss franc that fell to 1.0369 against the US dollar at 10:20 pm ET Monday bounced back thereafter. Currently, the franc is trading at a 2-week high of 1.0313 per dollar with 1.020 seen as the next target level. At yesterday’s close, USD/CHF pair was quoted at 1.0349.

During early deals on Tuesday, the Swiss franc gained against the Japanese yes. As of now, CHF/JPY pair is worth 89.01 and this set the highest point for the Swiss currency since December04. If the franc advances further, it may target the 89.2 level. The pair closed yesterday’s trading at 88.59.

The Swiss franc that closed yesterday’s trading at 1.4882 against the euro jumped to a new multi-month high of 1.4868 in early deals on Tuesday. The next upside target level for the franc is seen at 1.480.

At 2:30 am ET Tuesday, the Swiss franc reached 1.6527 against the pound, up from early Asian session’s 5-day low of 1.6590. If the franc climbs further, it may target the 1.647 level. GBP/CHF pair closed yesterday’s deals at 1.6563.