CHF is outperforming USD and other major currencies
In a strong year for US dollar, not many major currencies have gained on USD since the start of the year. Only British pound (up ~65 pips) and Swiss Franc (up ~300 pips) have outperformed USD since January. Currently trading around 0.8950, USD/CHF has only traded under 0.9000 in 16% of days since 2019. However, IG clients still believe the pair can fall further as 52% of clients in USD/CHF hold short positions.
Swiss franc has also been gaining on its European counterpart, the euro. Last Thursday, EUR/CHF closed at 0.9438 – its lowest daily close since IG began recording price history in 1999.
In recent years, Swiss franc has been bought by traders as a flight-to-quality asset. In the current landscape, its possible traders anxious about Europe’s potential involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict are favoring CHF over EUR as a risk-off play.
