USD/CHF off 7 1/2-week low with focus on Fed, SNB

The USD/CHF currency pair was mostly steady on Wednesday, after a rebound from last Friday’s 7 1/2-week low of 0.8054, as investors braced for the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s and the Swiss National Bank’s policy meetings.

The Fed is widely expected to leave its federal funds rate target range intact at 4.25%-4.50% at its June 17th-18th meeting.

The US central bank has adopted a wait-and-see approach amid concerns that the Trump administration’s tariffs could push inflation higher and slow GDP growth.

The minutes of the FOMC’s May meeting showed that Fed policy makers viewed the announced tariff increases as being significantly larger and more extensive than anticipated. What is more, policy makers warned of a substantial uncertainty surrounding the direction of trade policy as well as the scope, timing and duration of its effects on economy.

The new set of FOMC economic forecasts may offer further evidence of how policy makers perceive the impact of the Trump administration’s tariff policies.

Investors will also be paying close attention to the press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell for clues over the timing of any future interest rate cuts.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank is expected to lower its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 0% at its June 19th meeting.

In March, the SNB lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.25%, the fifth straight rate cut in the current easing cycle, which brought borrowing costs to their lowest level since September 2022.

Back then, the central bank maintained its inflation forecast at 0.4% for this year and at 0.8% for both 2026 and 2027.

The USD/CHF currency pair was last down 0.12% on the day to trade at 0.8153.