Swiss Franc slips against US Dollar as elevated Oil prices weaken its safe-haven status

At 0.8230, USD/CHF reaches session highs, extending its rebound from the 0.8193 lows recorded earlier this month.
Despite paring its losses, the US dollar is heading for a third successive weekly fall.
Rising oil prices put pressure on the Swiss franc after its strong performance in this week's risk-averse markets.

Back above 0.8220, USD/CHF has reversed Thursday's losses, although it is still heading for a weekly decline of 0.3% and a fall of nearly 1% over the past three weeks. The Swiss franc (CHF) is surrendering gains against the US dollar (USD) on Friday as concerns over the Swiss economy's exposure to higher oil prices weigh on the currency.

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With Brent crude approaching six-month highs at $113.50 per barrel, up nearly 20% in October, oil prices are exerting considerable pressure on the Swiss franc on Friday.

Fears of supply disruption have returned following reports of further attacks on vessels trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, alongside continuing attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabian airports and oil infrastructure. These concerns have driven prices close to their highest levels since the Middle East conflict began.

Swiss franc re-establishes its safe-haven role

Concerns over an AI bubble and bond-market turbulence in recent weeks have nevertheless restored the Swiss franc's safe-haven appeal, helping to limit its declines so far. By contrast, the US dollar has struggled this week. A series of disappointing results from technology companies fuelled doubts about the AI sector's profitability, prompting investors to retreat from equities and seek the safety of US government bonds.

A decline of more than 30 basis points in the US 10-year Treasury yield during October has created a substantial obstacle to US dollar gains.

For the outlook, ING analysts caution that “resurgent AI-related jitters and the upcoming US midterms are increasing downside risks for the Dollar,” while emphasising that a “still-hawkish Fed” is likely to act as a significant counterweight to a deeper dollar sell-off.

US Dollar Performs Best Against the Euro Today

Today's percentage movements in the US dollar (USD) against the major currencies listed are set out below. The dollar recorded its strongest performance against the euro.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.08%	-0.16%	-0.31%	-0.14%	0.06%	-0.05%	-0.17%
EUR	-0.08%		-0.25%	-0.40%	-0.21%	-0.01%	-0.13%	-0.26%
GBP	0.16%	0.25%		-0.17%	0.04%	0.24%	0.12%	-0.01%
JPY	0.31%	0.40%	0.17%		0.20%	0.39%	0.28%	0.15%
CAD	0.14%	0.21%	-0.04%	-0.20%		0.19%	0.08%	-0.05%
AUD	-0.06%	0.01%	-0.24%	-0.39%	-0.19%		-0.11%	-0.23%
NZD	0.05%	0.13%	-0.12%	-0.28%	-0.08%	0.11%		-0.12%
CHF	0.17%	0.26%	0.00%	-0.15%	0.05%	0.23%	0.12%

Percentage movements between the major currencies are illustrated in the heat map. Select the base currency in the left-hand column and the quote currency in the top row. For instance, choosing the US dollar on the left and following that row across to the Japanese yen gives the percentage change for USD (base)/JPY (quote) in the corresponding cell.