• USD/CHF may gain ground as the SNB is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point rate cut on Thursday.
• Market participants estimate a 63% chance of a quarter-percentage-point cut by the SNB.
• CME FedWatch Tool suggests around a 50% chance of totaling 75 basis points to be deducted by the Fed in 2024.

USD/CHF hovers around 0.8500 during the Asian session on Thursday, maintaining its position following recent gains from Wednesday. The Swiss Franc (CHF) may receive downward pressure ahead of the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) interest rate decision scheduled later in the day.

The Swiss National Bank is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis point interest rate cut at its upcoming September meeting. Interest Rate Probabilities suggest that market participants estimate a 63% chance of a quarter-percentage-point cut by the SNB, while for a larger one, the chances are at 37%.

On Wednesday, the ZEW Swiss Survey Expectations fell by 5.4 points from the previous month, registering a reading of -8.8 in September, down from a previous reading of -3.4. UBS, which partners with the CFA Society Switzerland to publish the indicator, noted that the negative reading indicates increasing pessimism among participants about the growth outlook for the Swiss economy over the next six months.

The upside of the USD/CHF pair could be limited due to the subdued US Dollar (USD). The Greenback receives downward pressure from rising odds of further interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in upcoming policy meetings. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in around a 50% chance of totaling 75 basis points to be deducted by the Fed to a range of 4.0-4.25% by the end of this year.