USD/CHF nearing 0.9600 as dollar 's sell-off continues

• SNB interrupts subtle intervention short-term.
• 2017 yearly low at 0.9419 becomes a possible bearish target.

As the EUR rallies to its highest since early December 2014, the USD/CHF pair accelerates its slide to its lowest since December last year, in the 0.9620 price zone. The divergent strength between the two European currencies is the result of persistent, and  silent, SNB intervention. The Switzerland National Bank has been regularly intervening in the FX market to keep its currency weak and support local exports, as for a  small economy, an expensive currency is a big headache. However, the excessive cost of these interventions to temper a rising Swissy makes them unsustainable in time, and here and there, the SNB lets the currency run.  Given prevalent dollar's weakness, the SNB has quit the fight before starting in, at least for now.

Levels to watch

The pair is oversold according to intraday technical readings, but continues heading lower and pressuring its daily lows. It has several daily lows from August/September 2017 in the 0.9580 region, making of the level the first relevant support, ahead 0.9530. Far away in the short-term, but still likely for this week, last year low was set last September at 0.9419, a critical threshold in the case of sustained declines.  Resistances today are located at 0.9664, Friday's daily low, followed by 0.9720.