(RTTNews) - In European deals on Wednesday, the Swiss franc tumbled against its major counterparts despite encouraging economic reports from Switzerland. The franc plummeted to a 2-day low against the yen and a 6-day low against the euro. Meanwhile, the franc fell from new multi-month highs against the dollar and the pound.
Switzerland's real turnover in the retail sector rose 1% year-on-year in July, the Federal Statistical Office said today. Economists had expected an increase of 0.7%. In June, retail sales rose 0.9%.
In nominal terms, turnover grew 1.1% in July over the previous year.
Additionally, economic expectations index for Switzerland jumped to 58 points in September from 18.6 points in August, results of a survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research in cooperation with Credit Suisse revealed.
The indicator for the assessment of the current economic situation also rose markedly. It increased by 17.1 points to reach minus 62 points.
Inflation expectations have increased again versus the previous month. The corresponding balance climbed by 16.9 points to 26 points.
The Swiss franc, which closed yesterday's trading at 88.03 against the yen slipped to a 2-day low of 87.25 in early deals on Wednesday. The next downside target level for the franc-yen pair is seen at 86.9.
The Bank of Japan began its two-day monetary policy meeting today in Tokyo. The bank will announce its decision on interest rates tomorrow, with analysts widely expecting the bank to keep rates on hold at a record low 0.10 percent.
The Swiss franc weakened against the US dollar after reaching a new multi-month high of 1.0320 at 3:55 am ET Wednesday. As of now, the dollar-franc pair is trading near yesterday's close of 1.0349. The near term support for the Swiss currency is seen around the 1.042 level.
The Swiss franc that jumped to a new multi-month high of 1.6987 against the pound at 1:50 am ET Wednesday slipped thereafter. Currently, the pound-franc pair is worth 1.7087, compared to 1.7067 hit late New York Tuesday. On the downside, 1.729 is seen as the next target level for the Swiss currency.
The Labor Market Statistics from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK claimant count rate in August was 5% of the workforce, up from 4.9% in July. The rate matched the consensus forecast. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance benefit increased 24,400 to 1.61 million. Economists were looking for a monthly increase of 25,000.
