The Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF) exchange rate was trending within a limited range on Tuesday afternoon.
In the early stages of Tuesday’s European session, the Pound slumped in response to a report of job cuts from Europe’s largest bank, HSBC. HSBC announced that it will be cutting around 8,000 British jobs which equates to about 1-in-6 employees. Further Sterling depreciation can be linked to speculation that the recent crack-down on banks in the UK will lead HSBC to relocate its headquarters away from London.
As Tuesday’s European session progressed, however, the Pound recovered losses after it transpired that the reports of HSBC moving its headquarters have not actually been confirmed by the institution. Additionally, British trade balance data printed relatively positively. April’s Trade Deficit was forecast to narrow from -£3.093 billion to -£2.3 billion, but the actual result saw the deficit narrow further to -£1.202 billion.
BBC business editor Kamal Ahmed said the HSBC UK job cuts would come as a shock to staff: ‘Global banking now is a far tougher business than it was pre-the financial crisis. It is hard to get profits.’ Mr Gulliver was ‘running a bank that investors believe simply doesn't make enough money,’ he added.
The Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF) exchange rate dropped to a low of 1.4137 today.
After having produced mostly positive domestic data results on Tuesday, the Swiss Franc advanced versus many of its peers, reaching close to a 5-week high against its British counterpart. May’s Unemployment Rate met with the market consensus of a drop from 3.3% to 3.2%. Seasonally-adjusted unemployment held at 3.3%. In addition, the Consumer Price Index hit -1.2% in May on the year, bettering the median market forecast drop from -1.1% to -1.3%.
‘Deflation is accelerating in Switzerland after the SNB decided to remove the peg and introduced negative rates. In addition, the bond purchase programme launched by the ECB is adding upward pressure on the Swiss franc and therefore pushing inflation further into negative territory,’ stated Swissquote Bank SA.
The Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF) exchange rate reached a high of 1.4273 today.
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