Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose to a two-week high against the Swiss franc on Thursday, as Italian borrowing costs remained dangerously high after a long-term government bond auction, boosting safe haven demand.
USD/CHF hit 0.9452 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since December 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9443, rising 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9320, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.9546, the high of December 15.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were thin, resulting in tight liquidity conditions and irregular volatility.
Italy’s Treasury sold just over EUR7 billion of long-term debt maturing between 2014 and 2022, below the maximum target of EUR8.5 billion.
The country sold EUR2.5 billion of 10-year bonds, maturing in March 2022, at an average yield of 6.97%, down from November's euro-record high 7.56%. The country also auctioned EUR2.5 billion of three-year bonds, at an average yield of 5.62%.
Following the auction, the yield on Italy’s 10-year bonds traded at 7.1%, above the critical 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable in the long-term.
The auction was seen as the first test of European banks' willingness to purchase long-term sovereign debt of distressed euro zone countries, following last week’s nearly EUR500 billion cash infusion by the European Central Bank.
Elsewhere, the Swiss franc was higher against the euro with EUR/CHF declining 0.13%, to hit 1.2184.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales and business conditions in the Chicago area.
USD/CHF hit 0.9452 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since December 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9443, rising 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9320, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.9546, the high of December 15.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were thin, resulting in tight liquidity conditions and irregular volatility.
Italy’s Treasury sold just over EUR7 billion of long-term debt maturing between 2014 and 2022, below the maximum target of EUR8.5 billion.
The country sold EUR2.5 billion of 10-year bonds, maturing in March 2022, at an average yield of 6.97%, down from November's euro-record high 7.56%. The country also auctioned EUR2.5 billion of three-year bonds, at an average yield of 5.62%.
Following the auction, the yield on Italy’s 10-year bonds traded at 7.1%, above the critical 7% threshold widely seen as unsustainable in the long-term.
The auction was seen as the first test of European banks' willingness to purchase long-term sovereign debt of distressed euro zone countries, following last week’s nearly EUR500 billion cash infusion by the European Central Bank.
Elsewhere, the Swiss franc was higher against the euro with EUR/CHF declining 0.13%, to hit 1.2184.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a weekly government report on initial jobless claims, as well as industry data on pending home sales and business conditions in the Chicago area.