BLBG: Swiss Franc Rises to Record a Second Day as Manufacturing Jumps
By Klaus Wille
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc rose to a record for the second straight day against the euro after a report showed manufacturing in the country expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in March.
The Swiss currency strengthened past 1.42 per euro for the first time. The SVME purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, advanced to 65.5, the highest level since November 2006, from 57.4 in February.
“The PMI came in stronger than expected, which hints to an upswing in the Swiss economy,” Sven Schubert, a foreign- exchange analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich, said in an interview. “This strengthens the franc, and I am interested to see” what the central bank might do next, he said.
The franc appreciated as much as 0.4 percent to 1.4186 per euro, before trading at 1.4208 as of 11:33 a.m. in Zurich. The Swiss currency strengthened 0.1 percent to 1.0524 against the dollar.
Swiss National Bank governing board member Jean-Pierre Danthine repeated yesterday that the central bank will stop “any excessive appreciation of the Swiss franc.” He spoke in an interview with Radio Suisse Romande.
To contact the reporter on this story: Klaus Wille in Zurich at kwille@bloomberg.net.
