The Swiss currency showed weakness against its major rivals in early New York trading on Tuesday. The franc thus pared most of its early morning gains against its major rivals.
The Swiss franc thus moved well-off a fresh 9-month high against the euro, 2-month high against the pound, 1-1/2 month high against the greenback and a new multi-week high against the yen.
Earlier in the day, the franc edged higher as UBS consumption indicator for Switzerland rose to 1.28 in November from 0.88 in October. The UBS bank said that this was the highest level since September 2008, but it remained below its long-term average of 1.5. The consumption indicator in October was revised from 0.87 reported initially.
The franc that rose to a fresh 2-month high of 1.6451 against the pound by 7:25 am ET pulled back and hit as low as 1.6538 around 10:00 am. The pound-franc pair moved in a sideways pattern thereafter and is currently worth 1.652 with 1.655 seen as the next target level in near-term. The pair closed yesterday's deals at 1.6563.
The Bank of England said today that individuals injected a net total of GBP 4.9 billion into housing equity in the third quarter compared with a revised net injection of GBP 6.9 billion in the second quarter. In the third quarter of 2008, the net injection was GBP 5.8 billion.
The franc that rose to near a 7-week high of 89.24 against the yen around 7:20 am ET retreated to 88.87 by 10:15 am ET. The franc-yen pair is presently worth 88.91, compared to 88.59 hit late New York Monday. On the downside, the franc may test support around the 88.5 level in near-term.
The Swiss franc also drifted lower to 1.0329 against the US dollar by 10:15 am ET after having hit a fresh multi-week high of 1.0282 in early trading. The greenback-franc pair leveled off thereafter and is currently quoted at 1.0323. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 1.035.
The dollar drifted higher after the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 52.9 in December from a revised 50.6 in November. Economists had been expecting the index to increase to 53.0 from the 49.5 originally reported for the previous month.
Earlier in the day, Standard and Poor's released a report showing that home prices were unchanged on a monthly basis and remained lower year-over-year in the month of October.
The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell at an annual rate of 7.3 percent in October compared to a revised 9.3 percent decline in September. Economists had been expecting prices to fall by about 7.1 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
The Swiss franc that touched its strongest level in more than 9 months in early trading against the euro pared some of its gains shortly. The franc retreated to 1.4896 by 10:15 am ET from 1.4854 hit around 7:15 am. Currently, the euro-franc pair is trading near yesterday's closing value of 1.4882.
In economic news from the euro-area, Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced that the consumer price index or CPI rose 0.8% year-on-year in December, faster than the 0.4% growth in the previous month. Economists were looking for an increase of 0.7%.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.7% in December, after falling 0.1% in November. Economists expected an increase of 0.6%.
The Eurozone economy is expected to continue recovery in 2010, but growth would be slow and fragile, European Central Bank Governing Council member Yves Mersch said today.
Meanwhile, Marek Belka, the Director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department said yesterday that European nations will recover from the global crisis at varying speeds during 2010.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.