USD/CHF holds steady around 0.8800, above weekly low touched on Thursday

• USD/CHF trades with a mild positive bias, though subdued USD demand caps any meaningful gains.
• The Fed’s hawkish outlook remains supportive of elevated US bond yields and favours the USD bulls.
• A sustained move beyond the 200-day SMA is needed to reaffirm the near-term constructive outlook.

The USD/CHF pair ticks higher during the Asian session on Friday, albeit lacks bullish conviction and remains confined within the previous day's broader range. Spot prices currently trade around the 0.8800 mark, comfortably above a one-and-half-week low touched on Thursday and remain at the mercy of the US Dollar (USD) price dynamics.

The USD Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish rebound from its lowest level in almost three weeks and acts as a headwind for the USD/CHF pair. That said, growing acceptance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep interest rates higher for longer favours the USD bulls and suggests that the path of least resistance for the currency pair is to the upside.

In fact, the minutes of the late January FOMC policy meeting released on Wednesday revealed that policymakers were concerned about cutting interest rates too quickly amid sticky inflation and a still-resilient US economy. Moreover, Fed officials reiterated the message that the central bank was in no hurry to ease its monetary policy. This remains supportive of elevated US Treasury bond yields and validates the positive setup for the Greenback.

Apart from this, the prevalent risk-on environment, which tends to undermine the safe-haven Swiss Franc (CHF), supports prospects for a further near-term appreciating move for the USD/CHF pair. Even from a technical perspective, spot prices showed resilience below the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), which, along with positive oscillators on the daily chart, reaffirms the near-term constructive outlook for the currency pair.

That said, it will still be prudent to wait for sustained strength and acceptance above the very important 200-day SMA before placing fresh bullish bets around the USD/CHF pair. There isn't any relevant market-moving economic data due for release from the US on Friday. Hence, the US bond yields will continue to play a key role in driving demand for the USD. This, along with the broader risk sentiment, should provide some impetus to the major.

Technical levels to watch