Swiss Franc Gains Ahead of SNB Decision Amid Fed Rate Hike Expectations
The Swiss Franc (CHF) is gaining strength ahead of the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) interest rate decision on September 24. Economists at DBS Group Research expect the SNB to leave its policy rate unchanged at 0%, but see scope for a shift in the bank's inflation forecast. The US Dollar (USD) has lost ground against the CHF, trading around 0.8240 during Asian hours on Thursday.
The US Federal Reserve's hawkish sentiment is still present, with market expectations for a 25-basis-point rate hike in October surging to nearly 69.7%. The latest Flash US S&P Global PMI data showed manufacturing expanding faster than expected at 52.0, helping offset slight pullbacks in services and composite activity.
The USD/CHF pair is trading with a bullish near-term bias, holding above both short-term and medium-term exponential moving averages. Initial support is seen at the 9-period EMA at 0.8213, while no nearby technical resistance levels are present from the current dataset.