ZURICH: The Swiss franc tracked the euro lower against the dollar on Wednesday as weak manufacturing data in the euro zone prompted expectations the European Central Bank will strike a dovish tone at its upcoming rate meeting. Business surveys published on Tuesday showed manufacturing across the euro zone fell deeper into decline in March, keeping the euro in sight of a four-month low of $1.2750 set last week. Still, the ECB is widely expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.75 percent when it holds its policy meeting on Thursday. "Once again, a cut is unlikely, despite a clear need for some form of stimulus in the region and the fact that the rate is now well below target," said Alpari analyst Craig Erlam. "The recent weakness in the euro is likely to be used as an excuse, given the potential for a weak currency to drive up inflation in the months ahead, as we've seen in the UK." The data, which showed euro zone manufacturing remained rooted in the contraction zone, had pushed the safe-haven franc to a five week high against the single currency on Tuesday. The franc later pared gains and was little changed against the euro compared to the New York close at 1.2167 by 0731 GMT. Against the dollar, the franc fell 0.2 percent to 0.9507. The safe-haven franc has largely mirrored movements in the single currency since the Swiss National Bank capped it at 1.20 per euro in September 2011 to stave off deflation and recession. Weak demand in the euro zone, Switzerland's biggest trading partner, has posed headwinds for the economy and data released on Tuesday showed Swiss manufacturing shrank for the first time since December.

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