USD/CHF drops to fresh 28-month low under 0.8850 on Fed decision

• USD/CHF remains pressured at the lowest levels since January 2021 after falling the most in seven weeks.
• Fed announces a dovish rate hike of 0.25%, dumping statement on interest rate lifts gain major attention.
• Bank fallouts, US debt ceiling expiration also weigh on sentiment and Swiss Franc pair.
• Risk catalysts are the key for immediate directions.

USD/CHF holds lower grounds near 0.8830 amid early Thursday, after falling to early 2021 levels on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) dovish rate hike. The risk-barometer pair also bears the burden of the market’s fears of US default and banking fallouts. With this, the Swiss Franc (CHF) pair prints a three-day downtrend near the multi-month low following the biggest daily slump in nearly seven weeks.

Fed lifted its benchmark rate to the highest levels since 2007 by announcing a 0.25% increase, matching market forecasts. The policymakers including Chairman Jerome Powell appeared positive while ruling out fears of banking rout. However, a dropping of the statement suggesting the need for further rate hikes gained major attention and weighed on the US Dollar despite the hawkish move.

On the other hand, PacWest Bancorp recently became another US bank to witness the heat of excess withdrawal and is on the brink of collapse. That said, Western Alliance Bancorp is also in the line and hence the US banking sector appears in trouble moving forward, which in turn weigh on the market sentiment and prod the hawkish central banks, like it did to the Fed.

Elsewhere, the comments from the White House suggesting debt limit default could cost 8.3 million job losses also weigh n the sentiment and the USD/CHF pair.

Talking about the data, US ADP Employment Change rose to 296K for April from 142K prior versus 148K market forecast. Additionaly, the annual pay growth declined to 13.2% from 14.2%. Further, ISM Services PMI improved to 51.9 in April versus 51.8 market forecasts and 51.2 previous readings. It’s worth noting, however, that the S&P Global Services PMI and Composite PMI for April eased to 53.6 and 53.4 versus 53.7 and 53.5 respective priors.

Amid these plays, Wall Street closed with minor losses and the yields remain pressured while weighing on the US Dollar Index.

Moving on, market players may pay close attention to the risk catalysts for fresh impulse amid a dearth of top-tier data. However, European Central Bank (ECB) Monetary Policy Meeting can entertain traders.

Technical analysis

A clear downside break of a three-week-old descending support line, now immediate resistance near 0.8850, directs USD/CHF bears towards the year 2021 low of around 0.8755.