Investing.com - The traditional safe haven Swiss franc jumped higher against the dollar and the euro on Wednesday as heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula prompted risk-off trade.
USD/CHF touched a low of 0.9614, the weakest since July 27. It was down 1.09% at 0.9636 by 04.46 a.m. ET (08.46 a.m. GMT).
Market sentiment was hit after North Korea said on Wednesday that it was looking at plans for a missile strike on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam; just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang that any threat would be met with "fire and fury."
Trump was responding to reports that North Korea had produced a miniaturized nuclear weapon that can be carried on its intercontinental ballistic missile.
Markets were also on edge after a car hit a group of soldiers in a suburb of Paris on Wednesday, in what was described as a deliberate act.
The Swissy, which is often sought in times of geopolitical tension or market turbulence, was also sharply higher against the euro.
EUR/CHF was last down 1.29% at 1.1300, putting it on track for the largest one day decline in more than two years.
The move marked the largest one day change since the Swiss National Bank shocked markets when it scrapped its currency peg with the euro in January 2015.
The euro was lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.21% to 1.1726.
The euro ended Tuesday’s session down 0.36% against the dollar after data showing that U.S. job openings surged to a record in June reinforced Friday's solid employment report.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade- weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 93.53.
The dollar fell to two-month lows against the yen, which is also sought out in times of political or financial stress, with USD/JPY down 0.53% at 109.76.
The euro was also weaker against the Japanese currency, with EUR/JPY last down 0.76% at 128.67.