USD/CHF jumps back closer to overnight swing high, around 0.9235 area ahead of NFP
- USD/CHF gained strong traction on Friday, though the move up lacked any obvious catalyst.
- A softer risk tone could benefit the safe-haven CHF and cap gains amid the USD selling bias.
- The focus remains on the release of the closely-watched US monthly jobs data, or NFP report.
The USD/CHF pair added to its intraday gains and shot back closer to the overnight swing high, around the 0.9235 region heading into the North American session.
The pair caught some fresh bids on the last day of the week and might now be looking to build on the overnight bounce from the weekly low. The strong intraday move up, however, lacked any obvious fundamental catalyst and could be attributed to some repositioning trade ahead of the key US NFP report. This, in turn, warrants some caution before placing aggressive bullish bets around the USD/CHF pair amid the prevalent US dollar selling bias.
The USD languished near a two-and-half-week low touched earlier this Friday and was pressured by the post-ECB strength in the shared currency. Apart from this, retreating US Treasury bond yields turned out to be another factor that undermined the greenback. Conversely, a generally weaker tone around the equity markets should benefit the Swiss franc's safe-haven status and further contribute to keeping a lid on any meaningful upside for the USD/CHF pair.
The market focus will remain glued to the closely-watched US monthly employment report, which is expected to show that the economy added 150K jobs in January. Given Wednesday's awful ADP report on private-sector employment, there is a considerable risk of a negative surprise from the official figures. This would be enough to exert additional pressure on the already weaker greenback and attract fresh selling around the USD/CHF pair.
Technical levels to watch