The Swiss franc fell against the dollar and the euro after a Federal Reserve survey signaled yesterday the U.S. economic slump may be moderating, sending stocks higher and damping demand for the currency as a refuge. The franc weakened against 12 of its 16 major counterparts. The Swiss Market Index of stocks rose 1.4 percent and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European equities advanced one percent. Five of the 12 Fed district banks noted a slower pace of decline or signs of stabilization in their region, the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey. “The latest moves in the Swiss were because of the equity markets,” said Niels Christensen, a currency strategist in Copenhagen at Nordea Bank AB, the biggest Scandinavian lender. “The euro is a little bit soft across the board.” The franc depreciated to 1.1459 against the dollar as of 2:30 p.m. in Zurich, from 1.1427 yesterday. It also weakened as much as 0.2 percent to 1.5143 per euro, before trading at 1.5128, from 1.5112. The Swiss National Bank said on March 12 it began buying foreign currencies to battle the recession. The central bank also cut the main interest rate to near zero and said it would buy corporate bonds. The SNB isn’t likely to intervene unless the franc appreciates to 1.46-to-1.48 per euro, Christensen said. The central bank is ‘nervous’ about the franc at its current level and may try to devalue the currency, Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of foreign-exchange research in Frankfurt at Commerzbank AG, wrote in a note today.

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