USD/CHF refreshes weekly high near 0.8100 as US Dollar trades firmly

USD/CHF jumps to near 0.8100 as the US Dollar advances ahead of Fed Powell’s speech.
Investors expect Fed Powell to reiterate a “wait and see” approach on the interest rate outlook.
Fed Schmid signals no rush for interest rate cuts.

The USD/CHF pair posts a fresh weekly high near 0.8100 during the late Asian session on Friday. The Swiss Franc pair advances as the US Dollar (USD) trades firmly ahead of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole (JH) Symposium at 14:00 GMT.

During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, posts a fresh 10-day high near 98.85.

The US Dollar has attracted significant bids as financial market participants expect Fed Chair Powell to maintain his argument that interest rates should remain at their current levels until the central bank gets clarity on the impact of tariffs on inflation and the economy.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes of the July policy meeting also showed on Wednesday that a majority of members, including Jerome Powell, has stated that the central bank needs time to gain clarity on the “magnitude and persistence of higher tariffs’ effects on inflation”.

On Thursday, Kansas City Fed Bank President Jeffrey Schmid stated that there is no rush for interest rate cuts as inflation is still above the central bank’s target of 2%.

On the Swiss Franc (CHF) front, investors look for fresh cues about whether the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will push interest rates into a negative territory to uplift inflationary pressures. Inflation in the Swiss region grew at an annual pace of 0.2% in July.

Economic Indicator

Fed’s Chair Powell speech

Jerome H. Powell took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. On November 2, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Powell assumed office as Chair on February 5, 2018.