SNB & CHF

Any domino-like expanding crisis will unfold in a status quo lacking any coherent response. Longtime readers know I’ve often referenced The Fourth Turning, the book that makes the case for an 80-year cycle of existential crisis in U.S. history. The first crisis was the constitutional process (1781) following the end of the Revolutionary War, whether the states could agree on a federal structure; the 2nd crisis was the Civil War (1861) and the 3rd crisis was global...

Switzerland’s GDP rose by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter of 2019, after increasing by 0.4% (revised) in the previous quarter.1 The development of domestic and foreign demand was weak, as in other European countries, which had a particularly negative impact on the service sectors. Switzerland Gross Domestic Product (GDP) QoQ, Q2 2019(see more posts on Switzerland Gross Domestic Product, ) Source: Investing.com - Click to enlarge Switzerland’s GDP rose by 0.3% in the...

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.79% to 1.0905 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, September 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: The Dollar Index fell the most in three months yesterday and is experiencing mild follow-through selling today. With hopes that Hong Kong has turned a corner, news that in-person US-China talks will resume next month, and a no-deal Brexit is well on the way to being averted,...

◆ Where Does Gold Go From Here? — Ron Paul’s “Cautious” Prediction ◆ “Gold is an ‘insurance policy’ as the dollar will continue go down in value as it is printed” and it will end in a monetary “calamity” ◆ “Gold is not money due to any man-made laws. Gold is money despite man-made laws, and is a product of the voluntary marketplace” ◆ Ron Paul has a “cautious” and “modest” prediction for gold and encourages people to own physical gold not as a speculation but for...

Extends overnight retracement slide from an ascending trend-channel resistance. A follow-through selling has the potential to drag the pair towards channel support. The USD/CHF pair remained under some selling pressure for the second consecutive session on Wednesday and retreated farther from over one-month tops set in the previous session. The pair on Tuesday started retreating from a resistance marked by the top end of a short-term ascending trend-channel,...

Bond yields have tumbled this morning, bringing the 10-year US Treasury rate within sight of its record low level. The catalyst appears to have been the ISM’s Manufacturing PMI. Falling below 50, this widely followed economic indicator continues its rapid unwinding. Back in November 2018, at just about 59 the overall index had still been close to its multi-decade high. Over the next nine months through the latest update for August 2019, it has shed almost 10 points....

Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.09% to 1.0835 EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, September 04(see more posts on EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Overview: Risk appetites have been bolstered by three developments. The UK appears to have taken a tentative step away from leaving the EU without a deal. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Lam has agreed to formally withdraw the controversial extradition measure that had been suspended. The...

USD/CHF extends declines on the break of one-week-old support-line (now resistance). Sellers look for key technical levels amid bearish signals from MACD. Following its break of immediate support-line, the USD/CHF pair remains on the back foot while taking rounds to 0.9870 amid Wednesday’s Asian session. Sellers now aim for 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of August month downpour, at 0.9854, as immediate support ahead of targeting 0.9822/17 confluence including...

Copper prices behave more deliberately than perhaps prices in other commodity markets. Like gold, it is still set by a mix of economic (meaning physical) and financial (meaning collateral and financing). Unlike gold, there doesn’t seem to be any rush to get to wherever the commodity market is going. Over the last several years, it has been more long periods of sideways. That’s what makes any potential breakout noteworthy. Dr. Copper’s place in the hierarchy is...

The US economy is starting to show cracks from the ongoing trade war. While we do not want to make too much from one data point, we acknowledge that headwinds are building whilst US recession risks are rising. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS US ISM manufacturing PMI fell to 49.1 vs. 51.3 expected. This is the first sub-50 reading since August 2016 and the lowest since January 2016. The employment component fell to 47.4 from 51.7 in July, while new orders fell to 47.2 from 50.8...