The widely expanding US dollar traded close to session highs against the Swiss franc on Monday, as demand for the greenback was bolstered in expectation of Ben Bernankes statements later in the week.
USD/CHF hit a session high and highest value since July 11th at 0.9533 at 11:51 GMT, after which consolidation followed at 0.9526. Support was likely to be found at current session low, 0.9454, while resistance was expected at July 11th high, 0.9592.
US dollar received support on Monday due to renewed expectations that FED will embark on a scale back of its asset purchases later in the year, while at the same time other central banks worldwide could preserve their current course of loose monetary policy in the foreseeable future. This advance came after the sudden retreat during the past week, following the speech by FED Chairman Bernanke, who said US economy was still in need of Quantitative Easing. US Retail sales report, scheduled for release later on Monday, could provide certain guidance, regarding the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. Preliminary estimates showed an increase by 0.7% in June, compared to May.
Meanwhile, earlier today it was reported that Producer and Import Prices indicator in Switzerland rose by 0.2% in June on annual basis, eliminating entirely the registered 0.2% decrease a month ago, while preliminary estimates pointed an increase by 0.3%. Monthly performance of the index did not match projections as well, because prices rose by 0.1% during June, below the expected 0.2% increase, but still making up for the registered 0.3% decrease in May.
Elsewhere, the franc was lower against the euro, as EUR/CHF pair was trading at 1.2389, up by 0.20% for the day.