USD/CHF continues to consolidate around 0.9040 as focus shifts to US Inflation

• USD/CHF has continued its back-and-forth action above 0.9040 ahead of US Inflation.
• S&P500 futures have trimmed some gains amid deepening tensions between China and Taiwan.
• Resilience in demand for core goods due to the higher labor cost index in the US might keep inflationary pressures sticky.

The USD/CHF pair is continuously trading lackluster above the critical support of 0.9036 in the early Tokyo session. The Swiss Franc asset is struggling to find any direction as investors are shifting their focus toward the release of the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which will release on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, S&P500 futures have trimmed some gains amid deepening tensions between China and Taiwan. The rising momentum of drilling around Taiwan Island by the Chinese military has stemmed caution in the market mood. Also, US equities are likely to witness volatility amid recession worries.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said the recent banking turmoil due to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank has accelerated the risk of recession in the United States, in an interview at CNN.  He further added that while the banking system is strong and sound, the recent turmoil around the financial system is “another weight on the scale” toward recession.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is defending the 102.00 support ahead of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. As per the consensus, the headline inflation will soften to 5.2% from the former release of 6.0%. Also, monthly headline CPI would decelerate to 0.3% from 0.4% reported earlier. Oil prices remained lower in March and its effect is expected to get visible in inflationary pressures.

On the other hand, core CPI that excludes oil and food prices is expected to increase to 5.6% from the former release of 5.5%. Resilience in demand for core goods due to a higher labor cost index is keeping inflationary pressures sticky. An occurrence of the same might force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to hike rates one more time in its May monetary policy meeting.

On the Swiss Franc front, Swiss markets are closed on account of Easter Monday. This week, the Swiss Franc will be guided by the Producer Price Index (PPI) data.