14.01.202011:59:00UTC+00Franc Advances As U.S. Includes Switzerland On Watchlist

The Swiss franc advanced against its major counterparts in European deals on Tuesday, as the U.S. treasury included Switzerland on a currency manipulator watchlist.

Even as borrowing costs for the Swiss government remained among the lowest in the world, fiscal policy was underutilized, even within the constraints of Switzerland's existing fiscal rules, the Treasury report said.

Swiss government responded that they have not manipulated the franc to gain "an unjustified competitive advantage."

Investors welcomed signs of a thawing in relations between the United States and China after the U.S. Treasury Department dropped China's designation as a currency manipulator and China pledged to buy nearly an additional $80 billion of U.S. manufactured goods over the next two years.

The phase one U.S.-China trade deal is due to be signed at the White House on Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Fox Business that the Chinese translation of the deal's text was almost done.

The franc advanced to 113.74 against the yen, its strongest since December 2018. The franc is likely to locate resistance around the 115.00 level.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,436.8 billion yen in November- up 75 percent on year.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,424.8 billion yen following the 1,816.8 billion yen surplus in October.

The franc climbed to a 6-day high of 0.9669 against the greenback from yesterday's closing value of 0.9706. The franc is seen finding resistance around the 0.95 level.

The Swiss currency strengthened to 1.0761 against the euro, a level unseen since April 2017. The franc may locate resistance around the 1.06 level.

The franc approached a 3-month high of 1.2557 against the pound from Monday's closing quote of 1.2608. The franc is poised to challenge resistance around the 1.24 level.

Looking ahead, U.S. consumer price index for December is due out in the the New York session.

At 9:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams will speak about the culture in financial services at a workshop hosted by the London School of Economics.