USD/CHF stages a goodish recovery, back above mid-0.9600s

Following previous session's slump to two-week lows, the USD/CHF pair staged a goodish recovery and rebounded over 50-pips from the 0.9600 neighborhood. 

On Wednesday, the pair remained under intense selling pressure amid escalating geopolitical tensions, following a war of words between the US and N. Korea. The Swiss Franc tends to benefit from safe-haven demand during times of geopolitical tension or global financial stress. 

Meanwhile, a pickup in the greenback demand, with the key US Dollar Index inching back closer to previous session's swing highs helped the pair to defend the 0.9600 handle. This coupled with some signs of stability in the global financial markets further dented demand for traditional safe-haven assets and collaborated to the pair's recovery to the 0.9660-65 region.

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Today's US economic docket, featuring the release of weekly jobless claims and PPI print, might provide some short-term trading impetus but the key focus would remain on Friday's CPI print, which would help determine the next leg of directional move for the major.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is pegged near 0.9685 level, above which the pair seems all set to surpass the 0.9700 handle and aim towards testing its next major hurdle near the 0.9735-40 region. On the flip side, 0.9635-30 zone now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken would turn the pair vulnerable to break below the 0.9600 handle and aim towards testing 0.9560-55 support area.

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