2016.09.3001:57:00UTC+00Swiss Franc Extends Rise Amid Risk Aversion

The Swiss franc continued to be strong against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday on risk aversion, as rising worries about the financial health of German lender Deutsche Bank dented investor sentiment.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that several hedge funds have withdrawn excess cash and positions held at Deutsche Bank. Europe's largest investment bank has been under pressure after the U.S. Justice Department asked it to pay a $14 billion fine to settle civil claims related to its residential mortgage-backed securities.

Meanwhile, Crude oil futures advanced Thursday after OPEC agreed to scale back production. November WTI crude rose 78 cents, or 1.7 percent, to settle at $47.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Thursday, the Swiss franc rose 0.45 percent against the euro, 0.80 percent against the pound, 0.49 percent against the U.S. dollar and 1.39 percent against the yen.

In the Asian trading, the Swiss franc rose to nearly a 1-1/2-month high of 1.0832 against the euro, from an early low of 1.0842. The franc may test resistance around the 1.07 region.

Against the yen and the pound, the franc advanced to more than a 2-week high of 105.28 and a 4-day high of 1.2510 from yesterday's closing quotes of 105.55 and 1.2525, respectively. If the Swiss franc extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 107.00 against the yen and 1.23 against the pound.

The franc edged up to 0.9655 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 0.9669. On the upside, 0.94 is seen as the next resistance level for the franc.

Looking ahead, the German retail sales data for August is due to be released in the pre-European session at 2:00 am ET.

Swiss KOF leading indicator for September, U.K. final GDP data for the second quarter, and Eurozone unemployment rate for August and CPI data for September are slated for release, later in the day.

In the New York session, Canada GDP data for August, Canada industrial and raw materials products price indexes for August, U.S. personal income and spending data for August, U.S. University of Michigan final consumer sentiment index for September, U.S. Chicago purchasing manager index for September and U.S. Baker Hughes rig count data are set to be announced.

At 1:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan will participate in a moderated Q&A session before the Stemmons Corridor Business Association 35th Annual Meeting, in Dallas, United States.