USD/CHF consolidates around 0.8820 despite strength in US Dollar
- USD/CHF trades sideways around 0.8820 even though the US Dollar trades strongly.
- Fed Williams believes that the current moderate restrictive policy stance is appropriate.
- The SNB cut its interest rates by 25 bps to 0.25% on Thursday.
The USD/CHF pair flattens around 0.8820 during North American trading hours on Friday. The Swiss Franc pair trades sideways even though the US Dollar (USD) exhibits strength amid expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will not cut its key borrowing rates in the near term.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, rises to near 104.00.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.27% | 0.27% | 0.10% | 0.11% | 0.45% | 0.13% | 0.01% | |
| EUR | -0.27% | 0.02% | -0.16% | -0.12% | 0.19% | -0.06% | -0.27% | |
| GBP | -0.27% | -0.02% | -0.15% | -0.14% | 0.17% | -0.08% | -0.27% | |
| JPY | -0.10% | 0.16% | 0.15% | 0.00% | 0.33% | 0.05% | -0.15% | |
| CAD | -0.11% | 0.12% | 0.14% | -0.01% | 0.30% | 0.06% | -0.13% | |
| AUD | -0.45% | -0.19% | -0.17% | -0.33% | -0.30% | -0.25% | -0.54% | |
| NZD | -0.13% | 0.06% | 0.08% | -0.05% | -0.06% | 0.25% | -0.18% | |
| CHF | -0.01% | 0.27% | 0.27% | 0.15% | 0.13% | 0.54% | 0.18% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Fed officials have stated that they are not in a hurry to move to interest rate cuts as they struggle to interpret the outcome of United States (US) President Donald Trump’s economic policies. In Friday’s North American session, Chicago Fed Bank President Austan Goolsbee said in an interview with CNBC that the Fed needs to be a “steady hand” and take the “long view” on the economy. Goolsbee added that the central bank needs to know how long the “tariffs last, possible retaliation, pass through to consumers”.
Separately, New York Fed Bank President John Williams said that the current modestly restrictive monetary policy is "entirely appropriate" with a “solid job market” and “above-target inflation”.
Meanwhile, investors look for fresh updates on reciprocal tariffs from US President Trump, which he is expected to unveil on April 2. Investors expect that the implementation of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will be unfavorable for global economic growth.
The Swiss Franc (CHF) outperforms all peers on Friday even though the Swiss National Bank (SNB) reduced interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 0.25% on Thursday. SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel stated after the policy decision that the outlook for Swiss inflation is unclear due to weaker economic growth globally and a possible rise in the CHF value.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.