Ella 
USD/CHF is hovering around 0.8780 after recording its first weekly loss the day before.
Markets were lackluster, as was the pair, amid anxiety ahead of Swiss data and next week’s speeches by top central bankers at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
However, data was light and positive A mixed perception of risk appetite also tested momentum traders in USD/CHF as yields retreated but optimists balked at taking control.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell about five basis points to 4.25% in the past hour.
On the other hand, S&P 500 futures rebounded from the lowest level since June 27 recorded the previous day, while stabilizing around the 4,385-90 area as it tested a three-day losing streak. Elsewhere, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended the previous day’s corrective rally, pulling off Wednesday’s 11-week low.
Affected by this, the U.S. dollar index fell slightly to close to 103.20, and the dollar bulls still have hope, even though the dollar and yields have fallen recently. This may have something to do with this week’s generally upbeat U.S. data and hawkish Fed minutes.
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing survey hit its strongest reading since April 2022 and the first positive reading in a year, rising to 12.0 in August from -13.5 previously and -10.0 expected. Likewise, U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ended August 11 fell to 239,000 from an upwardly revised 250,000, compared with expectations for 240,000. Earlier in the week, U.S. industrial production and retail sales unexpectedly rose in July, but housing data was mixed.
Still, the latest Fed meeting minutes showed that while divided over the imminent rate hike, most policymakers were inclined to support another fight against persistently high inflation, which in turn challenged the market’s previous view of the U.S. central bank. Concerns over policy shifts.
On the other hand, Evergrande, China’s second-largest property developer and the world’s most indebted property developer, filed for creditor protection in a U.S. bankruptcy court on Thursday, according to Reuters, which in turn fueled market concerns. It also adds to the woes of the world’s second-largest economy and a global economy in transition as it struggles with a slowing economic recovery, and fuels concerns about the financial health of Country Garden, China’s largest property developer. However, concerns that Chinese policy makers are poised for more stimulus to protect the economy from debt distress appear to have challenged the pessimists.
Swiss industrial production expected to grow by 3.4% yoy in the second quarter of 2023 will provide short-term direction for the USD/CHF currency pair. However, with an otherwise light schedule, the focus will be on risk catalysts.
