Swiss Franc pares losses following a steady Swiss trade surplus in April

The Swiss Franc (CHF) is picking up against the US Dollar on Tuesday, trimming Monday’s losses amid a moderate improvement in market sentiment and steady Swiss Trade Balance figures. The USD/CHF pair trades at the 0.7850 area at the time of writing, down from 0.7884 highs in the previous day.

Data from the Swiss Federal Statistics Office released on Tuesday showed that the country’s trade surplus edged up to CHF 3,098 million in April, up from CHF 3,092 million in March. According to the report, the April decline in exports has been offset by a similar drop in imports.

These figures follow a stronger-than-expected performance of the Swiss economy in Q1, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released on Monday, which was accompanied by solid Retail Sales and business activity figures.

Beyond that, the US Dollar is showing a mild bearish tone on Tuesday, as investors welcome reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Markets are hopeful that this truce will help to unravel the stalemate in the US-Iran negotiations and advance towards a durable peace in the region.

In the US, investors will be attentive to the JOLTS Job Openings report, due later on Tuesday. This will be the first of an array of labour statistics due this week, including the key Nonfarm Payrolls report, scheduled for Friday, which is expected to shed some more light on the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.