USD/CHF hesitates above 0.7800 despite weak Swiss Retail Sales data

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USD/CHF wavers right above 0.7800 after dropping from 0.7920 highs on Thursday.
Swiss Retail Sales disappointed in March, although the impact on the CHF has been minimal.
The USD retreated across the board on Friday amid echoes of an alleged USD/JPY intervention.

The US Dollar (USD) remains practically flat against the Swiss Franc (CHF) on Friday, wavering within a few pips above 0.7800, on track for a 0.35% weekly loss after dropping from highs above 0.7900 the previous day. The softer-than-expected Swiss Retail Sales data have failed to impact the pair, while an alleged intervention by Japanese authorities to stem Yen weakness has hit the Greenback across the board.

The Swiss Federal Statistics Office revealed on Friday that retail consumption year-on-year rose 0.5% in March, slightly above the 0.4% growth seen in February, but well short of the 1% increase forecasted by market analysts. On an annual basis, total retail sales have declined 0.1%.

Apart from that, an alleged intervention by Japanese authorities, consisting of selling US Dollars to support the Japanese Yen (JPY), has sent the US Dollar lower against its main currency peers on Friday.

The Japanese Ministry of Finance is supposed to have stepped into the Forex markets on Thursday, following comments by the Finance Minister, Satsuki Katayama, warning about immediate action. The USD/JPY depreciated around 2.4% on Thursday, sending the US Dollar lower across the board and triggering a more than 1% decline in the USD/CHF.

Japanese authorities are thought to have acted again on Friday, taking advantage of the thin trading volumes due to the May 1 Labour Day holiday. The USD/JPY lost 0.8% in a few seconds during the early European session in a move that reverberated across the market.

Economic Indicator

Real Retail Sales (YoY)

The Retail Sales data, released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on a monthly basis, measures the volume of goods sold by retailers in Switzerland. Changes in Retail Sales are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending. Percent changes reflect the rate of changes in such sales, with the YoY reading comparing sales volumes in the reference month with 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.