The USD/CHF pair maintained its downward trajectory, hovering around the 0.9000 level during the European trading session on Thursday. The pair faced pressure as the US Dollar (USD) faltered amidst mounting expectations of multiple rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2024.
The dovish sentiment surrounding the Fed was reinforced following the release of lower-than-anticipated monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Sales data from the United States (US). US CPI exhibited a slowdown to 0.3% month-over-month in April, falling short of the expected 0.4% reading, while Retail Sales remained stagnant, missing the projected increase of 0.4%.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari’s remarks on Wednesday further bolstered the expectation for unchanged policy rates, advocating for the maintenance of current levels “for a while longer until they ascertain the direction of underlying inflation.”
Meanwhile, on the Swiss front, Producer and Import Prices (YoY) witnessed a decline of 1.8% in April, indicating a marginal improvement from the previous downturn of 2.1%. This marked the twelfth consecutive period of decline, albeit at the slowest rate since December 2023.
Traders are poised to closely monitor the release of Industrial Production (YoY) for the first quarter on Friday. This report is anticipated to provide valuable insights into production volumes across various sectors, encompassing factories and manufacturing, in Switzerland.
