USD/CHF extends higher above parity as USD demand remains strong ahead of data

• US Dollar Index advances to fresh 12-month high above 95.
• Weekly jobless claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing survey are coming up next.

After failing to make a daily close above the critical parity level since the start of the week, the USD/CHF pair gathered strength on Thursday and advanced to a daily high at 1.0030. As of writing, the pair was trading a couple of pips below that level and adding 40 pips, or 0.4%, on the day.

Earlier today, a sharp drop witnessed in the GBP/USD pair following the dismal retail sales data from the UK allowed the greenback to break above the 95 mark. Furthermore, the data from Switzerland showed that the trade surplus eased to  2.591 million CHF to fall short of the experts’ estimate of 3,220 million CHF and weighed on the swissy.

At the beginning of the NA session, weekly jobless claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index figures will be looked upon for fresh impetus. Positive readings could provide an additional boost to the USD and allow the pair to push higher. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is at its highest level since July 2017 at 95.37 and is up nearly 0.6% on the day.

Technical levels to consider

On the upside, resistances align at  1.0065 (Jul. 13 high), 1.0100 (psychological level) and 1.0155 (Mar. 8, 2017, high). Supports on the other hand, could be seen at 1.0000 (psychological level/parity),  0.9950 (20-DMA) and 0.9915 (50-DMA).