- USD/CHF trades sideways around 0.8040 ahead of key Swiss and US data for August.
- The Swiss inflation is expected to have remained flat again on a monthly basis.
- Soft US JOLTS Job Openings data boosted Fed dovish bets.
The USD/CHF pair trades in a tight range around 0.8040 during the Asian trading session on Thursday. The Swiss Franc pair consolidates as investors await key Swiss Consumer Price Index (CPI) and United States (US) ADP Employment and ISM Services PMI data for August.
Economists expect the Swiss inflation to have remained flat again on a monthly basis, with annual figures rising steadily by 0.2%. An absence of growth in price pressures could force Swiss National Bank (SNB) officials to push interest rates into a negative territory.
In the US, the ADP Employment Change data is seen at 65K workers, significantly lower than 104K in July. Meanwhile, the ISM Services PMI is seen at 51.0, higher than the prior release of 50.1.
During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, gained ground after a corrective move on Wednesday to near 98.00.
The US Dollar faced a sharp selling pressure on Wednesday after weak US JOLTS Job Openings data for July. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that US employers posted 7.18 million fresh jobs, lower than expectations of 7.4 million, and the prior reading of 7.36 million. Soft US job Openings data fuelled Federal Reserve (Fed) dovish bets for the September policy meeting.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability for the Fed to cut interest rates in the September policy meeting has increased to 97.6% from 92% seen before the JOLTS Job Openings data release.
