USD/CHF Approaches 0.7980 Amidst Negative Market Sentiment

• USD/CHF sees slight uptick but remains generally stable below the 0.8000 mark.
• US President Trump considers raising tariffs for countries that do not finalize deals during the 90-day negotiation window.
• Poor market sentiment boosts the appeal of the safe-haven Swiss Franc.

The USD/CHF currency pair shows a minor increase, approaching 0.7980 during the Asian trading session on Friday. The pair maintains a largely steady performance amid a cautious market environment, exacerbated by concerns over potential hikes in US tariffs.

US President Trump, in a recent interview with NBC, indicated plans to implement tariffs of “15% or 20%” on countries that fail to conclude agreements within the designated 90-day tariff suspension period. “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” Trump stated.

This development poses challenges for assets from various nations, although the US has successfully negotiated agreements with the United Kingdom (UK) and Vietnam, secured a limited agreement with China, and is optimistic about a provisional US-India trade deal.

Furthermore, the negative market sentiment has led to increased demand for safe-haven assets like the Swiss Franc.

In addition, US President Trump has issued a letter to Canada proposing a 35% tariff, which would be in addition to other sector-specific tariffs. He has also threatened to impose additional tariffs on imports from the Eurozone. However, the Eurozone, consisting of 27 countries, has expressed its intention to finalize a deal with the US before the August 1 deadline.

As of now, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the strength of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, is trading higher at around 97.90, marking its highest position in two weeks.