U.S. dollar slips for second session vs. Swiss franc

U.S. dollar oscillated in a tight range versus the Swiss franc, edging down steadily after a host of negative data on both sides, as the Swiss ZEW Economic Expectations survey dropped in January, while inflation fell in the United states, along with a slowdown in housing starts and building permits in December.  

As of 06:39 GMT, USD/CHF receded to 1.0015, down from the opening level of 1.0028, with an intraday low at 0.9990, and a high at 1.0041. 

Earlier Swiss data showed a steep slide in the ZEW Economic Expectations survey to minus 3.0, compared to the previous reading's plus 16.6; while the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% m/m in December, missing expectations of no-change, and compared to November's also no-change, while on a yearly basis, the index rose 0.7%, missing expectations of a 0.8% rise, while limping above November's yearly 0.5% rise. As for Core CPI, it decelerated to plus 0.1%, from November's 0.2% rise, while missing forecasts of staying at plus 0.2%. On a yearly basis, the index rose 2.1% y/y, in line with expectations and higher than November's plus 2.0%. 

Similarly, building permits for December dropped to 1.23 million, down 3.9% from November's 1.28 million, but nonetheless better than analysts' expectations of a 6.4% fall to 1.20 million; while housing starts fell 2.5% m/m in December to 1.15M, down from 1.18M in November, and much worse than analysts' expectations of a 2.3% rise to 1.2M.