By: Barbara Zigah

The safe haven Swiss Franc has been under broad sell pressure as risk appetite resumes following the Ben Bernanke speech of last week, as well as an improving outlook for the U.S. economy. Recent news that one Swiss bank intends to begin charging a deposit fee to corporate clients has also put the brakes on the Swiss Franc’s rise. Commodity currencies, including the Australian and New Zealand Dollars, and to some extent the common currency Euro, moved higher too on improved risk appetite.

The Euro held close to a 2-month peak against the U.S. Dollar in trading yesterday, and some market players believe it may have broken through the holding pattern it’s been mired in over the past few months. Of course, the same market players cite the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone as a reason for limiting any further potential gains in the currency.

As reported at 1:30 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar traded against the Swiss Franc at 0.8170 Swiss Francs, a gain of 0.2%, slightly off the 5-week peak of 0.8239 the pair struck during the overnight session. The Euro was also higher against the Swiss Franc, trading at 1.1863 Swiss Francs, slightly off the 7-week peak of 1.1970 Swiss Francs struck yesterday.

The Swiss Franc has declined significantly over the last fortnight, in large part due to the efforts of the country’s central bank which has taken every available measure at its disposal to curtail the currency’s rise.