USD/CHF extended its winning streak that began last Thursday amid cautious markets amid concerns that the Israel-Gaza conflict could spread across the region. Amid this geopolitical tension, the pair moved higher around 0.8620 on Wednesday in Asia.
According to a report from the U.S. Central Command, missile facilities of the Houthi armed forces in Yemen were once again attacked by air strikes. It was the third military strike against Houthi targets as four missiles posed an imminent threat to commercial ships and U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea.
Risk aversion boosted demand for the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index rising to around 103.40. A recovery in U.S. Treasury yields and comments from Federal Reserve officials boosted the dollar.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stressed that despite the positive developments in the inflation outlook, the central bank is in no rush to formulate plans to cut interest rates. In addition, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said over the weekend that cutting interest rates too early could lead to volatile inflation.
Recent economic data in Switzerland, including a slight increase in consumer prices in December and an improvement in Swiss consumer demand in November based on real retail sales data, may prevent the Swiss National Bank (SNB) from making any progress at the upcoming monetary policy meeting. Lower interest rates.
With no impactful data on the Swiss economic calendar, traders are watching the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum taking place in Davos, attended by more than 28,000 leaders from around the world. Global economic discussions and insights shared during the conference can influence market sentiment. On the U.S. economic front, traders are keeping a close eye on U.S. retail sales data for December due out on Wednesday.