USD/CHF advances toward 0.9100 due to lower Swiss Industrial Production

• USD/CHF continues to advance after the release of lower Swiss production data on Friday.
• Swiss Industrial Production declined by 3.1% in Q1, marking the second consecutive quarter of declining industrial activity.
• The US Dollar appreciates Fed officials suggesting prolonging higher rates as pricing pressure persists in the US economy.

USD/CHF extends its gains for the second day, trading around 0.9080 during the early European hours on Friday. The Swiss Franc (CHF) depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) after the release of the lower Industrial Production released by Swiss Statistics.

The volume of production of Industries in Switzerland declined by 3.1% in the first quarter, following an upwardly revised decline of 0.5% in the previous quarter. This marks the second consecutive quarter of declining industrial activity. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, industrial production dropped by 1% in Q1, compared to an upwardly revised decline of 1.1% in the prior quarter.

On the USD front, the Federal Reserve (Fed) maintains a cautious stance regarding inflation and the potential for rate cuts in 2024, which contributes support for the US Dollar (USD), underpinning the USD/CHF pair.

Reuters reports on Thursday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said at an event in Jacksonville that the need for patience with interest rates, noting that substantial pricing pressure persists in the US economy. Additionally, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester indicated that it might take longer than anticipated to confidently ascertain the inflation trajectory, suggesting that the Fed should maintain its restrictive stance for an extended period.

However, the higher-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims were released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday. This has contributed to the market expectations of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) delivering a rate cut in September. The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose to 222,000 for the week ending May 10, surpassing the market consensus of 220,000 but below the previous week's figure of 232,000.