Swiss Franc Falls As KOF Indicators Show Dampening Outlook

The Swiss franc continued to fall against its majors on Friday as the KOF leading economic indicator and business confidence index for November came in weaker than expected, dampening the outlook for the European country.

The KOF indicator dropped to 98.7 from 99.5 in October and following the data, USD/CHF rose to 0.9672 from 0.9654.

The business confidence in Switzerland decreased to -1.30 in November from -0.20 in October, KOF said. It has been in the negative territory since July.

The Swiss currency was down on Thursday too, and since Wednesday's close, it has fallen 0.63% against the greenback.

The USD/CHF pair has touched a 16-month high of 0.9743 on 7 November mainly driven by a stronger dollar and evidence of weakness in the Swiss economy would lead the pair to higher levels easily.

The research firm said though the KOF barometer had moved closely around the long-term average in the last three months, the gap has widened now somewhat.

"Within the banking sector and in industry, the economic climate has cooled somewhat. The partial indicator for consumption fell significantly," the report showed.

"Consumers are assessing in particular their economic situation more reserved. The Retailers have hardly received any positive impulses."

Nevertheless, the indicator is retaining close contact to its average, the Swiss Economic Institute said, and added that economic development in Switzerland is likely to be marginally bumpier in winter.

"In the construction sector, prospects have slightly brightened in comparison to the previous month. Furthermore, the global environment for Switzerland presents itself slightly more favourable than before, even if the various international indicators show a rather heterogeneous picture," the 28 November press release said.