Tag Archive: Swiss Franc

The Swiss franc’s “phenomenal” bull run

The strength of the Swiss franc (CHF) has been the topic of countless “expert” analyses for over a year and it has received considerable coverage in the mainstream financial press. In fact, the last time the currency garnered this much interest was probably in 2011, when its celebrated “safe haven” status backfired, as investors fled to it in droves and pushed the price to levels that forced the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to intervene and peg it to...

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SNB dürfte im ersten Quartal 30Milliarden Franken verlieren

Die SNB dürfte im ersten Quartal des laufendenJahres einen Verlust von rund CHF 30 Mrd.ausweisen. Die Coronakrise führte zu einem Kurssturz anden Aktienmärkten und zu einer Aufwertung desFrankens auf breiter Basis, beides schadete demErgebnis der SNB.

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Will CHF/GBP Be a Good Currency Pair for Investment in the Future?

Trade between the UK and Switzerland is robust these days and it’s not going to get any worse for a long time. Even with the economic turmoil resulting from Brexit, the trade between these two countries was set to stay strong due to the special deal signed by them in 2019. As the situation stands now, trade agreements are solid, so these business relationships should only strengthen.

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Swiss Central Bank under Pressure as Franc Rises

Yesterday, the Swiss franc reached its highest level against the euro in two years. The EUR/CHF exchange rate reached 1.097 on 24 July 2019, a rate not seen since early 2017. Upward pressure on the franc is partly being driven by expectations of interest rate cuts by eurozone and US central banks. In addition, the franc is considered a safe haven currency and typically rises when global risk perceptions rise.

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All this borrowing to consume is unsustainable and the bill is overdue

June has been an interesting month for gold, as geopolitical events, market fluctuations and developments on the monetary policy front fueled an exciting ride for the precious metal. As long-term investors with a strict focus on the big picture, short-term moves and speculative angles are largely irrelevant in and of themselves, but they do provide important signals that, without fail, confirm the strategic superiority of precious metals holdings...

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Swiss monetary policy – it’s (almost) all about the Swiss franc

With the ECB and the Fed both signalling their readiness to provide further stimulus, the Swiss National Bank is unlikely to have smooth sailing over the coming months.How the Swiss National Bank (SNB) reacts to further stimulus by its US and European counterparts will be the key focus of the coming months for investors. 

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Limited room for Swiss franc depreciation

Even should global economic momentum stabilise in the coming months and political risks abate, the franc still has important structural underpinnings.The Swiss franc has been supported by a structural current account surplus and by reduced investment flows out of Switzerland since the 2008 financial crisis. In addition, the decline in global yields since the Fed’s dovish shift early this year has rendered interest rate differentials less...

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GBP to CHF rate hovers over 1.32 awaiting new Brexit Developments

The pound has rallied higher against the Swiss Franc with rates for the GBP/CHF pair now sitting over 1.32. Pound to Swiss Franc exchange rates have been lifted on the back of some optimism over Brexit, that a deal will be reached between Britain and the EU. The markets are awaiting developments over the contentious Irish backstop which could pave the way forward for a deal.

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Strong Trade Balance Data Supports the Franc

The Swiss Franc has been boosted during early morning trading as investors find the latest Trade Balance data supportive of the economy, with the Trade Balance data coming in showing a surplus of CHF3bn. The strength of the Swiss economy is its exports; in watches, chocolate and specialized industrial engineering.

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Mark Carney Steadies GBP/CHF Rates on Global Viewpoint

The pound to Swiss franc exchange rate has been steadied following comments from Mark Carney during a briefing on the global economy at the Barbican centre in London yesterday. I was fortunate to be in attendance and was struck by Carney’s confident manner, although he highlighted some major risks ahead which would be key for GBP/CHF rates.

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GBP/CHF Forecast: Swiss Franc at Best Level against the Pound in over a year

Brexit uncertainty causes Swiss Franc to gain vs the Pound. The Pound is now trading at its lowest level to buy Swiss Francs in over twelve months as the political uncertainty surrounding the UK is continuing to negatively affect the value of Sterling exchange rates.

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GBP/CHF Forecast: Brexit Uncertainty Ahead Causing Movement for GBP/CHF

In today’s GBP/CHF forecast we look at why the Pound has been coming under a huge amount of pressure recently against the Swiss Franc. Those that have been following the currency markets will be aware that the pressure on GBP is largely owing to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing Brexit talks.

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Switzerland Retains Top Spot in Global Wealth Ranking

Despite a slight decline in fortunes, the Swiss still enjoy the highest mean wealth per adult, according to the 2018 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. The reportexternal link, released on Thursday, estimated the average fortune of a Swiss adult to be $530,240 (CHF527,707) compared to $537,600 the previous year. The Alpine nation still comes out on top, followed by Australia ($411,060) and the United States ($403,970).

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Permanent Gold Backwardation, Report 30 Sep 2018

Sometimes, one just needs to look in the right place. And often in those cases, it just takes a conversation to alert one where to look. We had a call with a Swiss company this week, to discuss gold financing for their business. They reminded us that there is a negative interest rate on Swiss francs. And then they said that a swap of francs for gold has a cost. That is, the CHF GOFO rate is negative (the dollar based 12-month MM GOFO™ is +2.4%).

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Gold’s Price Performance: Beyond the US Dollar

With the first half of 2018 now drawn to a close, much of the financial medias’ headlines and commentary relating to the gold market has been focusing on the fact that the US dollar gold price has moved lower year-to-date. Specifically, from a US dollar price of $1302.50 at close on 31 December 2017, the price of gold in US dollar terms has slipped by approximately 3.8% over the last six months to around $1252.50, a drop of US $50.

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Sovereign Money Referendum: A Swiss Awakening to Fractional-Reserve Banking?

On Sunday 10 June 2018, Switzerland’s electorate voted on a referendum calling for the country’s commercial banks to be banned from creating money. In a country world-famous for its banking industry, this was quite an interesting turn of events. Known as the Sovereign Money Initiative or ‘Vollgeld’, the referendum was brought to the Swiss electorate in the form of a ‘Popular Initiative‘.

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Less scope for yen and Swiss franc depreciation

The start of the year has seen the Japanese yen and Swiss franc appreciate strongly against the US dollar (they rose by 5.6% and 4.4% respectively between 1 January and 22 February) despite higher US yields. However, this rise in US yields came with heightened market volatility, favouring safe haven currencies such as the yen and franc.

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If Bitcoin Is A Bubble…

Our earlier articles on bitcoin discuss the crypto asset as a currency and a commodity. Both papers focused on the consequences of bitcoin’s defining feature: the asymptotic supply limit of 21 million coins. This gives it an unusual juxtaposition of demand uncertainty and supply certainty (as well as inelasticity). As a currency, it gives rise to a tension between its use as a store of value and as medium of exchange.

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Jim Grant: “Markets Trust Too Much In The Presence Of Central Banks”

James Grant, Wall Street expert and editor of the renowned investment newsletter «Grant’s Interest Rate Observer», warns of the unseen consequences of super low interest rate and questions the extraordinary actions of the Swiss National Bank. Nearly ten years after the financial crisis, extraordinary monetary policy has become the norm.

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The Latte Index: Using The Impartial Bean To Value Currencies

Like any other market, there are many opinions on what a currency ought to be worth relative to others. With certain currencies, that spectrum of opinions is fairly narrow. As an example, for the world’s most traded currency – the U.S. dollar – the majority of opinions currently fall in a range from the dollar being 2% to 11% overvalued, according to organizations such as the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bank of International Settlements, the...

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