Swiss franc strengthens amid Middle East tensions
On Friday, the Swiss franc showed itself to be a safe haven in troubled times, amid new developments in the Middle East.
However, some of the gains against the dollar and euro were lost again as the markets stabilised.
In the early afternoon, the US dollar was trading at CHF0.9088, after having fallen to CHF0.9012 during the night. The exchange rate trend was similar against the euro, which is currently valued at CHF0.9677. On Thursday evening, the euro was still trading at well over CHF0.97.
The reason for the strengthening of the franc is Israel’s suspected retaliation to Iran’s attacks last weekend, when the Islamic Republic fired more than 300 missiles and drones towards Israel. Israel was reported to have carried out the retaliatory action despite international warnings.
However, Iran’s state media recently denied the reports of missile attacks. It was not a widespread attack, the state news agency Irna reported on Friday morning. There were no reports of damage, it added. US media had unanimously reported that Israel had attacked Iran.
As the dollar is also considered a safe haven, the euro also came under pressure against the “greenback” – but quickly recovered. The euro currently stands at $1.0645, after having fallen to $1.0611 at times during the night.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc
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