The EUR to CHF exchange rate climbed to a weekly best on Wednesday, but began to slip on Thursday as the appeal of ‘safe haven’ assets like gold and the Franc soared.
The Euro was boosted against the Swiss Franc on Friday, as the latest Eurozone data indicated that the bloc’s growth was largely on track despite some unexpected stagnancy from Italy and France’s economies.
Euro investors were also able to capitalise on a shift away from ‘safe-haven’ demand in the afternoon. Poor US retail sales throughout July caused Federal Reserve rate hike bets to plummet, causing USD investors to seek out higher yielding, riskier assets. While the Franc was able to advance on the Dollar, the Euro capitalised as investors sold the ‘safe-haven’ Franc.
Robust German growth in the second quarter boosted the Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate on Friday, with the Eurozone’s powerhouse economy continuing to demonstrate strength.
Even though the Italian GDP was found to have come to a standstill on the quarter investors were not overly concerned by signs of lop-sidedness within the currency union, at least at this juncture.
The Swiss Franc continued to power ahead against the Euro throughout Thursday’s session, as news on the record-high performance of gold in the first half of 2016 continued to spread.
The Euro itself was slightly weighed down by worries in markets that the German economy could be hit worse than other Eurozone nations by Brexit-related damage. However, it generally remained in good favour and Thursday’s movement was largely due to a strengthening Franc.
EUR/CHF reached a two-week-high of around 1.0924 on Wednesday morning, but began to slip later in the day, losing around half a rappen in value to trend at around 1.0870 on Thursday.
Here are today’s live Euro/Swiss Franc exchange rates
On Saturday the Euro to British Pound exchange rate (EUR/GBP) converts at 0.862
The pound conversion rate (against euro) is quoted at 1.16 EUR/GBP.
Today finds the pound to pound spot exchange rate priced at 1.
The live inter-bank GBP-USD spot rate is quoted as 1.237 today.
NB: the forex rates mentioned above, revised as of 20th Apr 2024, are inter-bank prices that will require a margin from your bank. Foreign exchange brokers can save up to 5% on international payments in comparison to the banks.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates Sentiment Dips on Lack of Data
While the Eurozone’s shared currency has been in generally high spirits for the last couple of weeks, it struggled to hold its ground on Thursday morning as the week’s quiet economy calendar began to see investors looking elsewhere for profits.
Market sentiment towards the Euro has strengthened since late-July, as economic figures have continued to indicate that the European Union’s biggest economic group would not be affected as badly by Britain’s Brexit vote as expected.
The Euro strengthened in the first half of the week as Eurozone investor confidence and German industrial production came in above expectations on Monday.
Investors also felt encouraged on the currency after Tuesday’s news that the Eurozone’s governments had decided not to fine Spain and Portugal for missing deficit goals, instead setting them new fiscal targets.
Swiss Franc (CHF) Exchange Rate Strengthens as Investors Seek Safe Assets
The Swiss Franc advanced against most major currencies on Thursday, as fluctuations and interest rate concerns in the global market caused investors to look towards ‘safe-haven’ investments in order to protect their assets.
This movement only increased after the latest report from the World Gold Council, which revealed that demand for the ‘safe-haven’ commodity, gold, had reached record highs.
The price of gold experienced its biggest first-half gain since 1980 between Q1 and Q2 2016, and most of the gold-buying for these quarters was through investment. The Guardian reported;
‘Hedge funds, Japanese pension funds and bond investors, put off by low yields, have been buying gold amid heightened global uncertainty, according to John Mulligan, the industry body’s head of member and market relations.
He explained that gold, regarded as the ultimate safe haven, had become more attractive due to low or negative interest rates and uncertainty around the UK’s decision to leave the EU and the US presidential election.’
Due to Switzerland’s vast gold reserves, increases in gold price often correlated with an increase in value of the Swiss Franc.
EUR/CHF Forecast: Eurozone Growth Figures Ahead
The Euro may have its chance to advance against the Franc again on Friday if investors see good things in the Eurozone’s future following the publication of preliminary Q2 GDP figures for the bloc.
As recent data has indicated that the Eurozone’s economy had not been affected by Britain’s Brexit decision as badly as expected, Q2 growth scores are still likely to be relevant going forward.
Because of this, lower-than-expected growth scores will likely cause the Euro to plunge, while optimistic figures could add to recent Eurozone hopes and cause a marked increase in Euro demand.
Other prints expected on Friday morning include final July German Consumer Price Index (CPI) scores, which could certainly cause some Euro movement if they do not match preliminary figures.
As for the Franc, it is likely to remain in solid appeal as global market factors are increasingly uncertain and have caused ‘safe haven’ investments to become an increasingly important way for investors to protect their assets.