USD/CHF advances after US mid-tier economic figures, bulls momentum still limited

• The USD/CHF is navigating towards the 0.8515 level, registering a modest gain of 0.3% after jumping to a daily high of 0.8555.
• The US JOLTs Job Openings for November were reported at 8.79M by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, lower than expected.
• The US ISM Manufacturing PMI for December reported lower at 47.4, better than the 47.1 expected.
• FOMC minutes might provide additional guidance to the markets.

In Wednesday’s trading session, the USD/CHF pair exhibited a bullish stance but failed to hold its momentum, which took it to a high of around 0.8555 and stabilized at 0.8515. This upward surge is largely attributed to a strengthened US Dollar following the release of mid-tier economic data from the US, which drove investors to the US Dollar. Later in the session, the Federal Reserve (Fed) will release the December meeting minutes, which may affect the pair’s dynamics.

The US labor market demonstrated a slightly negative outlook, with the JOLT’s Job Openings falling short of expectations. As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the figures for November came in at 8.79M, failing to meet the 8.85M consensus, while slightly lower than the previous figure of 8.85M. However, the situation of the labor sector will be better portrayed by the Nonfarm Payrolls alongside the Average Hourly Earnings and the Unemployment rate from December, to be reported on Friday.

The US dollar is regaining some of its losses as, despite the soft JOLTs figures, the US is still showcasing the strength of its economy. In that sense, December’s ISM Manufacturing PMI came in at 47.4, from November’s 46.7, further lagging behind market expectations of 47.1, while the Manufacturing employment index also beat expectations coming in at 48.1 vs the 46.1 expected. However, the Dollar susceptibility persists until market easing expectations adjust.

USD/CHF levels to watch

On the daily chart, indicators suggest that bears are losing ground but haven’t given up yet. The positive slope in the Relative Strength Index (RSI), albeit in negative territory, suggests that buying momentum may slowly build up despite being in an overall bearish zone. This could potentially hint at a possible transition from selling to buying pressure.

In line with that, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) prints decreasing red bars, an indication that selling pressure, despite receding, it seems to be maintaining its grip. This means that sellers still have some momentum on their side and could possibly hinder any bullish advancement in the short term.

Regarding the broader perspective of the market, bears are in command as the pair remains well below its 20,100 and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs).

USD/CHF daily chart