USD/CHF breaks above 0.9500, a 22-month high on broad US dollar strength

• The Swiss franc extends its weekly losses in the week, as the USD/CHF is up by 0.87%.
• Russo-Ukraine jitters and Fed speaking dominate the headlines.
• USD/CHF Price Forecast: The break of 0.9500 might open the door towards 0.9600.

The USD/CHF is soaring and recorded a fresh 22-month-high around 0.9506 during the North American session, courtesy of a firm US dollar, amidst a mixed market mood. At the time of writing, the USD/CHF is trading at 0.9503.

As portrayed by US equities trading in the green, the market sentiment is positive. The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to dominate the headlines, as the White House said there could be new sanctions on Russia this week. Meanwhile, the US dollar remains buoyant in the session, propelled by St. Louis Fed’s Bullard, who said that inflation is “far too high” and reiterated that the Fed needs to go above neutral, around 3.50%.

On Tuesday, Chicago’s Fed President Charles Evans said that the US economy “will do very well even as rates rise.” Evans added that he supports a “couple” of 50 bps increases, which could lift rates to the 1.25%-2.50% neutral rate.

Later in the day, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Thomas Jordan said that inflation expectations are well anchored, but there could be some risk to price stability in Switzerland. He commented that energy prices and supply chain disruptions would significantly impact Switzerland’s price stability.

Aside from this, the USD/CHF remained upwards, opening near the 0.9440 area and is pushing towards the 0.9500 mark, as the safe-haven peer’s Swiss franc and Japanese yen remain battered in the day.

USD/CHF Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The USD/CHF daily chart depicts the pair as upward biased. Given that the USD/CHF broke above the YTD high at 0.9460 and April’s 1, 2021 cycle high at 0.9472, it opened the door for a move towards 0.9500 and beyond.

That said, the USD/CHF first resistance would be June 30, 2020, cycle high at 0.9533. A breach of the latter would expose the 0.9600 mark, followed by June 5, 2020, a daily high at 0.9650.