Swiss franc strengthens on risk aversion

Story link: Swiss franc strengthens on risk aversion

The Swiss franc strengthened on Tuesday as investors turned away from risk after remarks from a member of the European Central Bank’s board said that Eurozone growth could be hurt by repercussions from the US housing slump.

The Swiss franc was trading at SFr1.1177 to the US dollar in early afternoon trade in New York, while it was at SFr1.6494 to the euro and at SFr2.3001 to the pound.

Risk aversion was also helping the yen in relation to several currencies.

In New York at early afternoon it took ¥109.8750 to buy a US dollar, better than the ¥110.4350 it took to buy a dollar at roughly the same time on Monday afternoon, while it cost ¥226.1175 to buy a pound and ¥95.96.48 to buy an Australian dollar.

On the other hand, the yen was at ¥162.1534 to the euro against its level of ¥161.9749 to the euro on Monday afternoon in New York.

Besides its decline versus the yen, sterling was also lower in relation to the euro on continuing speculation that the Bank of England could choose to cut interest rates later this week, although most analysts are still convinced that the Bank will hold rates steady according to one survey.

In early afternoon trade in New York it took €1.3945 to buy a pound against the €1.4073 it took on Monday afternoon, while the US dollar was also slightly stronger at $2.0580 to the pound.