USD/CHF rises to 0.96 after US data dump
The USD/CHF pair gained traction in the early NA session on increasing USD strength and renewed its 5-day high at 0.9607. Following the initial reaction, the pair eased back a little and is now trading at 0.9590, gaining 0.35% on the day.
After dropping towards the mid-91s in the first half of the previous day, the US Dollar Index started a recovery move, which carried over to Wednesday. On the back of the robust macro data reading from the U.S., the index inched higher to a daily high at 92.80. As of writing, the index was at 92.65, up 0.4% on the day.
According to the data released by the ADP, private sector employment in the U.S. increased by 237,000 jobs on a monthly basis in August, beating the market estimate of 185,000. Moreover, the July figure of 187,000 was revised up to 201,000 as well. Moreover, the preliminary reading of the annualized GDP growth in the U.S. for the second quarter improved to 3% from 2.6%, again surpassing the market consensus of 2.7%. On a quarterly basis, the preliminary core PCE in the second quarter remained unchanged at 0.9%.
- US: Private sector employment increased by 237,000 jobs in August
- US: Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.0% in second quarter of 2017
In the meantime, major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.25% and the S&P 500 losing 0.15%, capping the gains of the pair for now. There are no more data left in the remainder of the session and the DXY could continue to drive the price action.
Technical outlook
The RSI on the daily graph is now near the 50 handle, suggesting that the bearish pressure faded away. 0.9625 (20-DMA/50-DMA) could be seen as the first hurdle on the upside ahead of 0.9670 (Aug. 24 high) and 0.9765 (Aug. 16 high). On the flip side, supports align at 0.9540 (daily low), 0.9500 (psychological level) and 0.9425 (Aug. 29 low).
- USD/CHF now points to consolidation – Commerzbank