In early European trading on Tuesday, the Swiss franc recovered its early Asian session's downtrend against most major currencies. The franc thus climbed from a 2-month low against the dollar, 4-week low against the pound and a 4-day low against the yen. Against the euro, the franc ticked up today.
The Swiss Federal Statistical Office announced today that consumer price inflation slowed to 0.1% in January from 0.7% in December. Inflation slowed for the fourth month in a row. Economists were looking for 0.6% inflation for the month. The consumer price index dropped 0.8% month-on-month in January, double the 0.4% fall forecast by economists.
Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank said the maximum volume of assets to be transferred by the UBS to the SNB stabilization fund, which was set up to realize UBS assets will decrease to US$39.1 billion from its original level of approximately US$60 billion.
In accordance with the agreement announced on October 16, 2008, the UBS will finance 10% of the transfer amount. Owing to the reduction of the overall amount, the maximum risk to be borne by the SNB has declined considerably, to roughly US$35 billion.
The SNB and UBS have agreed not to transfer certain categories of assets like securities backed by student loans and assets that have been wrapped by monoline insurers.
In early trading on Tuesday, the Swiss franc advanced against the euro. At about 4:35 am ET, the euro-franc pair hit 1.5025, compared to yesterday's close of 1.5139. The immediate resistance level for the Swiss currency is seen at 1.483.
The French and the Italian industrial production reports, which were released today likely influenced the European currency.
French industrial production declined 1.8% month-on-month in December, slower than November's revised 2.8% fall. The decline in December matched economists' expectations. Meanwhile, manufacturing output in December dropped 2.8% on a monthly basis compared to a revised decrease of 3.6% in November. Economists were looking for a monthly 2.2% fall.
Italy's unadjusted industrial production dropped 12.2% year-on-year in December, after falling 12.7% in November. The decline was severe than the expected fall of 11.3%. Production dropped for the eighth straight month.
The franc gained against the dollar after hitting a 2-month low of 1.1783 at 10:40 pm ET Monday. The dollar-franc pair that closed yesterday's deals at 1.1640 is currently worth 1.1616. On the upside, the franc is likely to target the 1.151 level.
U.S. President Barack Obama is demanding an economic stimulus bill on his desk before Congress leaves for the Presidents' Day holiday on February 16. The U.S. legislation passed a key test in the Senate earlier today with a 61-36 vote to end delaying-tactics by conservative Republicans that had pushed debate into a seventh day. This has set the stage for a final vote, which would send the package into a House-Senate conference to resolve significant differences between the chambers' respective bills.
U.S. President Barack Obama warned yesterday that the United States must act on a multibillion-dollar plan to jump-start the battered economy or risk facing a ''Lost Decade'' that Japan experienced in the 1990s.
He said at his first news conference since taking office on January 20 that the stimulus plan must be passed through Congress as soon as possible and that it must be extraordinary in size and scope to match the magnitude of the economic crisis stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown.
Against the yen, the Swiss franc dropped to a 4-day low of 77.51 before reversing direction by about 8:05 pm ET Monday. Currently, the franc-yen pair is worth 78.70 with 79.7 seen as the next target level. The pair closed yesterday's North American session at 78.63.
In economic news from Japan, household consumer confidence rose to 26.4 in January from 26.2 in December, a monthly survey from Cabinet Office showed. Economists had expected the indicator to fall to 25.2 in January.
The Swiss franc plunged to a 4-week low of 1.7490 against the pound at 10:25 pm ET Monday. Thereafter, the franc ticked up and the pair is presently trading at 1.7185. The near term resistance level for the franc is seen at 1.710. The pound-franc pair was quoted at 1.7355 yesterday's close.
UK's deficit on trade in goods and services narrowed to GBP 3.6 billion in December from GBP 4 billion in November. The November shortfall was revised from an original estimate of GBP 4.5 billion. Economists had expected a deficit of GBP 4.25 billion in December.
Looking ahead of the North American session, all eyes will be on U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's announcement of plans for the remaining $350 billion left in the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Also, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley will speak on inflation at 9:30 am ET.
The Commerce Department is due to release its wholesale inventories report at 10 am ET. Economists expect wholesale inventories at the end of December to show a 0.6% decline.
In the afternoon, the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.