USD/CHF advances to fresh two-month highs above 0.9260

• USD/CHF is rising for the fifth straight day on Thursday.
• SNB’s Jordan says economic recovery situation remains fragile.
• US Dollar Index stays in the green near 94.50.

The USD/CHF pair continued to edge higher on Thursday and touched its best level since late July at 0.9269. As of writing, the pair was up 0.23% on the day at 0.9260.

CHF remains on the back foot after SNB meeting

Earlier in the day, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced that it left its key rate unchanged at -0.75% as expected. During the press conference, SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan acknowledged that the economic recovery situation remains fragile in Switzerland and said that interventions have had an impact against the upward pressure of the CHF.

On the other hand, the broad-based USD strength allows the bullish momentum to remain intact. The US Dollar Index, which gained more than 1% in the first half of the week, continues to push higher on Thursday and was last seen gaining 0.12% on the day at 94.46. 

The first macroeconomic data from the US showed that Initial Jobless Claims rose slightly to 870,000 last week and came in worse than the market expectation of 843,000. The market reaction, however, was muted and investors are waiting for the New Home Sales and Kansas Fed Manufacturing Activity data that will be released later in the session.

Moreover, FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell will be testifying before Congress but is now expected to deliver any comments on the policy outlook.

Technical levels to watch for