FOREX: Weekly review

The Swiss franc was in the spotlight last week as the Swiss National Bank stepped up its campaign to weaken its currency.
The franc has been driven to record highs in recent weeks as investors have have sought a haven from the eurozone debt crisis and fears over global growth.
That has alarmed Swiss policymakers, fearful that the strength of their currency could strangle economic growth.
Speculation that the SNB was preparing to intervene directly in the currency market and peg the franc to the euro sent the franc sharply lower early in the week.
The franc rose on Wednesday, however, after the central bank avoided direct action, instead flooding the money market with funds in an effort to drive interest rates lower and rein in what it described as its “massively overvalued” currency.
That still left the franc 2.2% lower against the euro over the week, down 1.1% against the dollar and 2.9% weaker against the pound.
Meanwhile, a fresh slide in global stocks boosted haven demand for the yen, although fears of further intervention by the Japanese authorities to weaken its currency kept its gains in check.
The yen hit a record high of Y75.93 against the dollar on Friday, before pulling back, still up 0.5% on the week.
The dollar came under pressure elsewhere as a plunge in the Philadelphia Fed’s business conditions survey stoked fears that the US economy was headed for recession and raised speculation of a fresh round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve.
Over the week, the dollar fell 1.1% against the euro, lost 1.8% against the pound and dropped 0.8% against the Australian dollar.