Dollar mostly up ahead of US GDP; Swiss franc falls

January 30, 2015 | 14:32

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The dollar on Thursday (Jan 29) rose against the yen ahead of a key US economic report, while the Swiss franc fell sharply against the euro and the dollar.

Euro and Dollar (AFP)

NEW YORK: The dollar on Thursday (Jan 29) rose against the yen ahead of a key US economic report, while the Swiss franc fell sharply against the euro and the dollar.

The dollar advanced against the Japanese currency, the franc and the British pound ahead of Friday's release of the first estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product. The GDP report follows a US Federal Reserve statement on Wednesday that kept alive a possible rise to interest rates in mid-2015.

"If there is one takeaway from the recent price action in the foreign exchange market, it should be that buying US dollars is still the best bet in the global currency war," said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management. She said the dollar will remain strong "unless the Federal Reserve signals that it doesn't plan to raise interest rates this year."

The dollar did retreat against the euro, but Lien said that was more of a ripple effect from the single currency's 2.3 per cent surge against the Swiss franc.

The Swiss central bank shocked markets two weeks ago with a decision to abandon a formal peg to the euro. However, Lien cited comments from a Swiss official earlier this week as implying the central bank was "quietly selling" the franc. "We have no official confirmation but the size of the move certainly smells like SNB intervention," said Lien.

AFP

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