USD/CHF consolidates near 0.97 handle, awaits US GDP for fresh impetus

The Swiss Franc remained heavily offered through the mid-European session on Friday, with the USD/CHF pair holding with strong gains for the second consecutive session.

After a strong rally of over 200-pips in the past 24-hours, the pair has now entered a bullish consolidation phase and was seen oscillating in a narrow trading range around the 0.9700 handle. Investors preferred to remain on the sideline and await the advance release of US GDP print for fresh impetus.

   •  US: Focus on Q2 GDP numbers – BBH

Meanwhile, traders seemed to have largely ignored a mildly softer tone around the US Dollar and the prevalent risk-off environment, which tend to benefit the Swiss Franc's safe-haven appeal. 

Looking at the broader picture, the pair is holding comfortably at one-month highs and seems all set to post strong weekly gains, reversing last week’s entire slump to the lowest level since August 2015. Hence, a follow through short-covering, leading to a fresh bullish break-out beyond the 0.9700 handle, now seems a distinct possibility.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is seen near 0.9730-35 region, above which the pair is likely to aim towards testing June monthly highs resistance near 0.9765-70 region before darting towards the 0.9800 handle. 

On the flip side, any pull-back now seems to find fresh buying interest near 0.9670 horizontal level, which if broken would turn the pair vulnerable to head back towards the 0.9600 handle.