The British pound is higher against the Swiss franc on Thursday.
The pound continues its multi-day move higher and keeps its position as most-favoured currency outside of the US dollar.
Switzerland having the second highest number of coronavirus cases per capita after Spain is hurting its status as a haven asset.
Pound versus Swiss franc was up by 85 pips (+0.72%) to 1.2032 with a daily range of 1.1941 to 1.2059 as of 4pm GMT.
GBP/CHF dipped below 1.195 before rallying up to a fresh 1-month high above 1.20. Week-to-date gains now stand at +1.57%.
Pound rises to one-month high
Sterling continues its run of good form with a 4-week high against the Swissie. Having fallen to levels not seen since a flash-crash in the currency after the EU referendum result, some investors seem to think the currency is below its intrinsic value and are buying in.
UK House prices rose 3% in March according to Nationwide. But like a lot of the so-called ‘March’ data the cut-off is in the first half of the month so doesn’t capture the impact of government shutdown measures.
UK coronavirus deaths rose to 2,921 from 2,352 for the biggest gain so far. The numbers keep accelerating and offer no explanation for the Sterling strength.
Swiss franc underperforms other havens like gold
While other havens like gold were getting a small boost, the Swissie is still failing to catch a bid, perhaps due to intervention from the Swiss National Bank in FX markets.
The soft economic data could be playing a role in the relative weakness of the franc. No further monetary easing has happened in Switzerland in response to the coronavirus crisis. The hit to the economy, the high currency and consumer price deflation of -0.5% y/y as reported today will all be adding pressure on the SNB to cut rates.
Switzerland does not have the highest number of coronavirus cases at 18,267 as of Thursday but continues to maintain a very higher per capita number of cases. It is reporting 2000 coronavirus cases per 1 million of the population. That is higher than Italy and only surpassed by Spain.
