USD/CHF snaps a two-day losing streak, holds above 0.8900, focus on Fedspeak

• USD/CHF recovers some lost ground, holds above the 0.8900 mark on Friday.
• The Swiss Trade surplus widened more than expected in September.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a desire to hold the interest rate.

The USD/CHF pair snaps a two-day losing streak during the early European session on Friday. The pair currently trades near 0.8927, up 0.15% on the day. Meanwhile, the escalating geopolitical tension between Israel and Hamas might benefit to the safe-haven currency like Swiss Franc (CHF).

The Swiss Trade surplus widened more than expected in September. Trade Balance came in at 6,316M versus 3,814M seen in the previous month, better than the expectation of 3,770M, according to data published by the Swiss Federal Customs Administration Thursday. Additionally, Exports surged to 24,795M MoM in September from the previous reading of 20,932M whereas Imports arrived at 18,480M MoM versus 17,118M.

Across the pond, Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a desire to pause rate hikes and watch how economic data develops in the coming months. Powell further stated that more monetary policy tightening might be appropriate if there are more indications about above-trend growth or if the labor market stops easing. His dovish comments weigh on the Greenback and act as a headwind for the USD/CHF pair.

The US weekly job report indicated that the US economy remains robust. The Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending October 14, dropped to 198,000, the lowest level since January 2023. Existing home sales fell 2.0% MoM in September, the lowest level since 2010. These numbers suggested that higher mortgage costs negatively impact housing market confidence.

In the absence of top-tier economic data release from both the US and Switzerland, market participants will keep an eye on the Fed officials’ speech, including Logan, Mester, and Harker.