This is the current USD-CHF mid-market exchange rate. The Total Cost of buying foreign currency in the above table is calculated as the sum of all fees and the exchange rate margin, which is the difference between the provider's exchange rate and the mid-market USD-CHF exchange rate.
Whenever you are researching a particular exchange rate you are actually interested in two currencies as the value of a currency must always be quoted relative to a second currency.
So it follows that if you are determining the best time to transact, in this case the USD vs CHF, you should pay attention to both United States Dollar and Swiss Franc news and forecasts.
26-January-19: 2018 was a reasonable year for the dollar. Measured by the US Dollar Index, the greenback appreciated by 4 percent, which was much better than 2017’s 10 percent loss. It was, though, something of a stuttering end to 2018 and the dollar has had mixed fortunes in early 2019.
In December, after lifting US interest rates to 2.25-2.5 percent, the Fed lowered its expectations for future hikes due to so-called “cross currents” (China, Brexit, trade wars etc.). Skepticism among analysts over future Fed hikes has for some time been the main reason for dollar pessimism for 2019, but now, there is also the prospect of a US economic slowdown to contend with.
“A slowdown in the economy is likely to weigh on USD particularly in the second half of this year,” a CIBC researcher said in January.
Of the same opinion was an expert at ING, who argued that the dollar is soon to “embark on a gradual long-term bearish trend.”
January’s extended US government shutdown also has dollar-negative ramifications. Not only is the shutdown likely to hit first-quarter GDP growth, disagreements within Congress bode poorly for the future of potentially inflationary fiscal spending.
9-February-19: The Swiss National Bank continues to reaffirm its commitment to an ultra-loose monetary policy, which includes negative interest rates and a willingness to intervene in FX markets to weaken the “highly valued” franc.
Since the second quarter of last year, the franc has been the European currency of choice for traders, which makes sense given the euro and sterling-negative effects of Brexit, the Italian recession and Italian budgetary problems. In early 2019, the franc has generally depreciated, however. Like the yen, euro, krona and other low-yielding currencies, the franc has been sold to fund carry trades.
EUR/CHF has traded between Fr1.12 and Fr1.15 since last August and it traded near to the centre of that range at the time of this report, at Fr1.132. The franc had been as weak as Fr1.2 ten months ago.
Against a strong US dollar, the franc has weakened over the past twelve months from Fr0.92 to parity (Fr1.0).
Recent forecasts from Citibank have USD/CHF falling marginally to 0.98 over 6-12 months. In January, UBS predicted EUR/CHF at Fr1.15 by mid-year.
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