Franc Falls As SNB Chief Jordan Admits Possibility For Further Rate Cut
February 11 2016 - 3:13AM
RTTF2
The Swiss franc declined against most major rivals in European
deals on Thursday, after the Swiss National Bank President Thomas
Jordan said that he cannot exclude the possibility of cutting rates
into further negative territory, as renewed fears about the
eurozone could prop up the currency.
Speaking to Swiss magazine Bilanz, Jordan asserted that the bank
went relatively far with negative interest rates and is ready to
intervene in the currency market.
"We went quite far to the negative interest and now we monitor
the situation closely. We exclude nothing," he told.
Figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed that Swiss
consumer prices declined at a stable pace in January, in line with
expectations.
The consumer price index fell 1.3 percent year-over-year in
January, the same rate of decrease as in December.
The figure was also matched with consensus estimate. Prices have
been falling since November 2014.
The currency was higher in early European deals, as investors
were attracted to safe-haven assets amid weak global cues. Oil
prices slid on inventory data and on concerns about slowing global
growth, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned of several
risks facing the world's largest economy.
The franc showed mixed performance in Asian deals. While the
franc held steady against the euro and the pound, it rose against
the greenback. Against the yen, the franc declined.
The franc slipped to a 2-day low of 1.1038 against the euro, off
its early near 3-week high of 1.0950. The franc is seen finding
support around the 1.12 zone.
The franc eased to 1.4070 against the pound and 0.9762 against
the greenback, from its more than 9-month high of 1.3925 and near a
4-month high of 0.9661, respectively. The next possible support for
the franc may be located around 0.98 against the greenback and 1.42
against the pound.
On the flip side, the franc bounced off to 115.94 against the
Japanese yen, from a 13-month low of 114.47 hit at 7:00 am ET. The
pair was worth 116.39 when it ended Wednesday's trading.
Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended
February 6 and Canada new housing price index for December are due
to be released in the New York session.
At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will testify
on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking
Committee in Washington DC.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels later in the
day.
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