Swiss Franc edges lower against the US Dollar following soft Swiss inflation numbers

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USD/CHF picks up from daily lows and approaches 8-week highs at 0.7934.
Soft Swiss inflation figures have weighed on the mild Swiss Franc's recovery.
The Swissie remains 1.3% down on the week so far, as the US Dollar rallies on concerns about the stalled US-Iran peace process.

The Swiss Franc (CHF) holds marginal gains against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, having given up about half of the daily appreciation following the release of cooler-than-expected Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The USD/CHF pair trades at. 0.7910 at the time of writing, with the 8-week high of 0.7934 at a relatively short distance.

Data released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office revealed that consumer inflation grew at a 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) rate in May, unchanged from April, against market expectations of an acceleration to 0.8%. Month-on-month, the CPI eased to 0.2%, in line with market expectations of a steady 0.3% rate.

These figures show that price pressures remain steady in Switzerland, despite inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict, which would allow the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to keep its benchmark interest rate at the current 0% level for the foreseeable future.

Previously, the Swissie had bounced up from nearly two-month lows, as the safe-haven US Dollar lost ground, following news of an Israel-Lebanon agreement to implement the ceasefire. Earlier this week, however, the CHF had depreciated about 1.4% as the hostilities between Washington and Tehran tested the limits of the ceasefire and boosted demand for the safe-haven US.

Economic Indicator

Consumer Price Index (MoM)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on a monthly basis, measures the change in prices of goods and services which are representative of the private households’ consumption in Switzerland. The CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. The MoM figure compares the prices of goods in the reference month to the previous month. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Swiss Franc (CHF), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

Economic Indicator

Consumer Price Index (YoY)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on a monthly basis, measures the change in prices of goods and services which are representative of the private households’ consumption in Switzerland. The CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. The YoY reading compares prices in the reference month to the same month a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Swiss Franc (CHF), while a low reading is seen as bearish.