Safe-haven currency Swiss Franc's rise is blocked: Swiss National Bank verbally intervenes, option bulls urgently cancel orders.
History and charts show that the Swiss franc's upward momentum may be losing steam, as the Swiss National Bank issues a warning about the strengthening exchange rate.
History and charts show that the uptrend of the Swiss Franc may be losing momentum, as the Swiss National Bank issues warnings about the strengthening exchange rate. On Monday, the Swiss Franc against the Euro hit a new high since 2015, briefly approaching 1 Euro to 0.90 Swiss Francs before falling back to around 0.9110. The options market also reflects this weakening momentum, with the Risk Reversal Index (measuring demand for bullish protection against bearish positions) showing one of the most drastic intraday fluctuations in history, with a swing that is only 2% less than previous fluctuations.
This shift occurred after Swiss National Bank officials took a strong stance on the foreign exchange market. They indicated that, as the impact of the Iran war continues to affect the market, the central bank is "increasingly ready" to intervene. Previously, investors had viewed the Swiss Franc as a safe-haven currency, pushing up the Swiss Franc exchange rate and also suppressing inflation in Switzerland.
Traders bought into the short-term Swiss Franc rally during the early session, but quickly withdrew these bets after the warning from the Swiss National Bank. By the close, prices still showed a bullish trend for the Swiss Franc, but the market was no longer betting on further upside.
Funds flow data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) also showed similar price movements. At the end of trading on Monday, around 60% of Euro/Swiss Franc plain vanilla options were hedged for Euro strength, consistent with investors taking profits or hedging against a Swiss Franc rebound risk. The spot price movements also left technical traces related to a reversal.
Currently, strategists believe that the Swiss National Bank's comments are more like a speed bump than a trend ender. Jens Peter Sorsensen, Chief Analyst at Danske Bank, wrote: "While the recent strength of the Swiss Franc's actual trade-weighted exchange rate has indeed increased intervention risks, we believe intervention will only limit its upside potential rather than trigger a full reversal of the Swiss Franc."
In cases where past risk reversals led to intraday plunges followed by sharp recoveries at the close, Euro/Swiss Franc often lacks follow-through in the next few trading days and the Euro tends to gradually rise in the following one to two weeks. The Euro rose for a second consecutive day against the Swiss Franc, up 0.1% to 0.9118 in early London trading.
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