USD/CHF trades at fresh 10-day highs near mid-0.99s
- 10-year US Treasury bond yield continues to erase Thursday's gains.
- Investors wait for clarity on the US-China trade dispute.
- US Dollar Index stays flat near 98 ahead of mid-tier data.
After closing the first four days of the week with modest gains, the USD/CHF pair stretched higher on Friday and touched its best level in ten days at 0.9949. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.9945, adding 0.17% on a daily basis. Despite this week's climb, however, the pair continues to trade in its five-week-old range between 0.9850 and 1.0000, suggesting that the pair's action is largely technical.
Markets confused on US-China trade news
The uncertainty surrounding the United States (US)-China trade dispute as we approach the US' scheduled December tariff hike doesn't allow investors to take large positions. Although the latest headlines suggested that the US could delay its tariff hike even if there is no deal, markets don't seem to be eager to price the end of the protracted trade conflict.
In fact, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield, which gained more than 2% on Thursday boosted by positive rhetoric, reversed its direction on Friday and was last down 1.5% on a daily basis to reflect the shifts in the market sentiment.
In the second half of the day, the IHS Markit's Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data from the US and the University of Michigan's final reading of the Consumer Confidence Index for November will be watched for fresh catalysts. The US Dollar Index is moving sideways around the 98 handle ahead of these data releases.
Technical levels to watch for