Again a lot of the action on forex markets in the past 24 hours has centered around the Swiss franc. This fell in early trade yesterday on speculation that the Swiss might either intervene directly or set a floor on the €-CHF exchange rate after the government met to discuss measures to curb the currency’s appreciation. Markets, though, were disappointed as neither of these measures were announced. Rather the Swiss National Bank just boosted liquidity though it reiterated that it would take additional steps if necessary. As a result the …

After the recent extreme volatility, markets are starting this week with a steadier tone. The Swiss franc, though, has dropped to a two week low against both the dollar and euro. Markets are cautious that the SNB will take further action to weaken the currency with increased speculation over the weekend about a possible peg to the euro. Some improvement in risk appetite and the steadying in markets is also eroding some of the Swiss franc’s safe haven appeal.
The improvement in risk appetite is also weighing on the yen. …

Asian stock markets were higher overnight, buoyed by a rise on Wall Street and yesterday’s better than expected US weekly jobless report. The jump in risk sentiment helped the euro versus the dollar. News that several European governments imposed bans on short-selling, seeking to rein in volatility, may have added support. However, the gains in stocks were mild when looked at in the context of the extreme volatility of the past week and sentiment is likely to remain fragile on concerns about Europe’s debt crisis, as well as the weak …

The yen and the Swiss franc remain the currencies of choice as market sentiment continues to be dominated by fears about the outlook for the global economy and fiscal problems in many developed economies. Although initially providing some support for the euro, the ECB buying of Italian and Spanish bonds has also undermined sentiment as it further intensifies fears that the European debt problems are deep-rooted. Added to this are fears that France could face a downgrade of its triple-A rating which caused its credit-default swaps to widen sharply. The …

Through the euro zone sovereign crisis the euro has found underlying support in its comparatively higher interest rates and the prospect of further tightening from the ECB. Thus, the growing perception (which intensified after yesterday’s ECB press conference that the central bank could be less aggressive in tightening monetary policy than originally anticipated has hit the euro hard. It fell sharply versus the dollar and other majors over yesterday, hitting lows of $1.405 before finding some support there.
The euro has also been hit by the general spike in risk …

The Bank of Japan intervened to curb the yen’s rise overnight, sending the JPY lower against the dollar and euro. The action supported the dollar versus the euro, taking the single currency off overnight highs of $1.436. Meanwhile, with the Swiss franc up 20% versus the dollar year to date and 14% versus the euro, it is no wonder that the Swiss National Bank is also taking steps to halt the risk of its safe haven currency. Yesterday it cut interest rates to almost zero, which saw the CHF retreat …