Swiss franc weakens slightly amid tariff uncertainty

Keystone-SDA

The Swiss franc fell slightly against the euro and US dollar on Monday. Meanwhile, stocks rallied in Europe, Asia and the United States.

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After strong movements last week, the currency market is somewhat calmer at the start of this week.

The euro was trading at CHF0.9329 late on Monday after a lower CHF0.9296 in the morning. The dollar meanwhile was trading at CHF0.8218 after CHF0.8169 in the morning. Meanwhile, the euro did not move much against the dollar.

Swiss franc: safe haven

The tariff uncertainties caused significant fluctuations on the currency market, especially at the end of last week. While the dollar clearly weakened, the Swiss franc was sought after as a safe haven.

On Monday, the market hinted at a recovery on the stock markets after US President Donald Trump slightly defused the tariffs dispute that he had triggered. The US government has announced that it is suspending special tariffs on certain electronic products such as smartphones and computers from various countries – including China – at least temporarily.

According to foreign exchange experts at Commerzbank, the rapid appreciation of the Swiss franc is nevertheless likely to be a thorn in the side of the Swiss National Bank (SNB).

“However, as long as the appreciation does not continue at this pace, we do not expect pronounced interventions,” bank analysts said.

UBS expects SNB to cut interest rates

UBS bank takes a less relaxed view. A paper by the bank’s foreign exchange trading department says that an interest rate cut by the SNB before the regular deadline in mid-June and large-scale interventions on the foreign exchange market are likely.

It is not known whether interventions have already taken place. Data published on Monday on SNB’s sight deposits last week at least does not rule it out. The sight deposits of domestic banks rose by CHF5 billion.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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