Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc gained against all major currencies after weaker-than-expected economic growth in Japan spurred demand for the currency as a haven. The franc gained for a fifth consecutive day against the euro, the currency of its main trading partners, after today’s data showed that Japan’s economy grew at an annualized 0.4 percent in the second quarter, less than a fifth of the pace economists had forecast. “The data from Japan renewed risk aversion, which is pushing up the franc,” Lutz Karpowitz, a currency strategist at Commerzbank AG, said by phone in Frankfurt. “The Swiss currency might gain further during the next days.” The franc gained as much as 0.9 percent to 1.3294 per euro, the strongest level since July 8, and was at 1.3308 against the euro as of 10:27 a.m. in Zurich. It strengthened against all of its 16 most-traded counterparts, gaining 1 percent to 1.0407 versus the dollar.

Source