USD/CHF climbs toward 1.0100 as DXY erases early losses

• US Dollar Index turns flat on the day near 97.40.
• European stock markets post gains on Monday.
• Coming up: Retail sales from the U.S.

After spending the Asian session and the European morning in a very tight range near 1.0080, the USD/CHF pair gained traction in the last hour and was last seen trading at 1.0092, adding 0.15% on a daily basis.

A new USD-buying wave in the last hour seems to be fueling the pair’s recent upsurge. Despite a sharp drop on Friday following the disappointing NFP data, the US Dollar Index posted its highest weekly-close of the year and started the week under modest bearish pressure. However, with major European currencies such as the euro and the GBP struggling to find demand on Monday, the US Dollar Index found support at 97.27 and was last seen virtually unchanged on the day at 97.40.

Later in the session, retail sales from the U.S. will be watched closely by the market participants. Analysts expect sales to decline by 0.1% on a monthly basis in January and a better-than-expected reading could allow the pair to push higher in the second half of the day.

Meanwhile, the fact that major European equity indices are staying in the positive territory on Monday points to a positive market sentiment, which makes it difficult for the CHF to recover its losses.

Technical levels to consider