Ella 
USD/CHF fell sharply from psychological resistance at 0.8500 during the European session on Thursday. Swiss franc assets came under selling pressure as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 1%. This is the third consecutive 25 basis point rate cut by the central bank.
The SNB is widely expected to further cut its key lending rate as inflationary pressures in the Swiss economy have exceeded the bank’s 2% target. Switzerland’s annual consumer price index (CPI) fell to 1.1% in August.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar (USD) is clinging to Thursday’s recovery as Federal Reserve policymakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell, are scheduled to comment on the economic and interest rate outlook. Comments from Fed policymakers will indicate whether the central bank will implement a second consecutive larger-than-usual 50-basis-point rate cut in November or slow its policy easing cycle to a gradual 25-basis-point rate cut. interest rate.
At last week’s monetary policy meeting, the Fed kicked off its rate-cutting cycle with a 50 basis point cut as policymakers worried about deteriorating job growth.
The CME FedWatch tool shows that the probability that the Fed will cut interest rates by 50 basis points in November to 4.25%-4.50% has risen to 61% from 39% a week ago.
On the economic front, investors are awaiting U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data for August due out on Friday. The annual core PCE inflation rate, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is estimated to have accelerated to 2.7%, compared with 2.6% in July.
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