USD/CHF holds steady below 0.9500 mark

• USD/CHF seemed struggling to capitalize on the previous day’s positive move.
• Worries about a surge in coronavirus cases underpinned the safe-haven CHF.
• A turnaround in the equity markets, stronger USD might help limit the downside.

The USD/CHF pair traded with a mild positive bias on Thursday, albeit lacked any strong follow-through and remained below the key 0.9500 psychological mark.

The pair struggled to build on the previous day’s positive move, or capitalize on its recovery move from weekly lows, around the 0.9420 area. Concerns about a surge in the number for coronavirus cases globally underpinned the Swiss franc’s safe-haven demand and capped the upside for the USD/CHF pair.

The negative factor to some extent was negated by a goodish intraday bounce in the global equity markets. This coupled with some follow-through US dollar buying interest helped limit any meaningful slide, rather led to a subdued/range-bound price action through the early European session.

Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to a slew of important US macro data for a fresh impetus. Thursday’s US economic docket highlights the release of Initial Jobless Claims and Durable Goods Orders data. This along with the final Q1 GDP report might influence the USD price dynamics.

From a technical perspective, the pair’s inability to attract any meaningful buying interest suggests that the near-term bearish bias might still be far from being over. Hence, any attempted move beyond the 0.9500 mark runs the risk of fizzling out rather quickly near the 0.9525-30 supply zone.

That said, a sustained strength beyond the mentioned hurdle, leading to a subsequent move above mid-0.9500s will negate the negative outlook and might be seen as a fresh trigger for bullish traders. The pair might then accelerate the recovery move and aim to reclaim the 0.9600 round-figure mark.

Technical levels to watch