USD/CHF struggles to hold above 0.9900 ahead of US data

• 10-year US T-bond yield resovers after falling for four straight days.
• US Dollar Index stays calm above 98 ahead of US data.

After slumping to its lowest level in ten days at 0.9870 on Thursday, the USD/CHF pair staged a modest rebound and rose to a session high of 0.9911 before losing its traction. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.9893, still up 0.15% on a daily basis.

Focus remains on US-China trade developments

The sour market sentiment in the last couple of days allowed the CHF to find demand as a safe-havens and forced the pair to push lower. The political jitters in the United States and the lack of positive developments surrounding the United States (US)-China trade conflict caused investors to stay away from risky assets. 

However, with several White House officials hinting that the US is about to finalize the phase-one of the trade deal with China allowed risk-on flows to return to markets and helped the pair turn positive on the day. Reflecting the recovering sentiment, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield, which lost more than 7% since the start of the week, is up more than 1% on Friday.

In the second half of the session, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey and Retail Sales data will be watched closely by the market participants. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index is moving sideways above the 98 handle, struggling to set its next short-term direction.

Technical levels to watch for