Swiss Franc Rises Amid Risk Aversion

The Swiss franc strengthened against the other major currencies in the early European session on Wednesday amid risk aversion, as investor sentiment dampened over weak commodity prices.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is currently down 0.68 percent or 43.22 points at 6,271, France's CAC 40 index is down 0.49 percent or 23.08 points at 4,678 and Germany's DAX is down 0.57 percent or 61.50 points at 10,798.

The energy stocks drifted lower after Saudi Arabia announced harsh budget-saving measures, suggesting that the world's largest crude exporter is bracing for a prolonged period of low oil prices.

Crude oil for February delivery are currently down $0.90 to $36.97 a barrel.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a rise of almost 3 million barrels in crude supplies in the week ended Dec. 25. The closely-watched survey from the Energy Information Administration is slated for release later in the day.

In other economic news, data from the UBS bank showed that Switzerland's consumption indicator climbed to 1.66 in November from 1.63 in the preceding month, pointing to further growth in private consumption in the months ahead.

In the Asian session today, the Swiss franc held steady against the other major currencies.

In the early European trading, the Swiss franc rose to 1.0833 against the euro and 1.4671 against the pound, from early lows of 1.0851 and 1.4727, respectively. If the Swiss franc extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.07 against the euro and 1.45 against the pound.

Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the franc edged up to 0.9903 and 121.59 from early lows of 0.9930 and 121.24, respectively. The franc is likely to find resistance around 0.97 against the greenback and 123.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, U.S. pending home sales data for November and U.S. crude oil inventories data are due to be released in the New York session.

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