ZURICH: The Swiss franc fell on Friday against the dollar as the greenback approached a 10-month high against a basket of currencies after a regional Federal Reserve chief said the US central bank could begin easing up on stimulus this summer. John Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could completely exit its easing by the end of the year. "The market reacts to any news on QE3 (quantitative easing) like a nervous chicken, fluttering from one side to the other," Commerzbank analyst Thu Lan Nguyen said in a note. UBS economist Reto Huenerwadel said recent increased price action in the euro-Swiss franc cross was a by-product of the cyclically driven development in the dollar-franc. "We highlight that the latest move higher in euro-franc at least in part is also a function of increased risk appetite by financial markets not least vis-a-vis the Eurozone," he said. The safe-haven Swiss franc, which the Swiss National Bank capped at 1.20 per euro to fight deflation in September 2011, has recently weakened against the euro as investors worry less about the currency bloc's debt crisis. Commerzbank analysts said in a separate note the market had not managed to close above the 1.2515 high hit by euro-franc on January 28 and had been consolidating. "That consolidation looks complete and the market is well placed to re-test 1.2515/25," they said. The franc fell 0.2 percent against the dollar compared to the New York close to trade at 0.9662 by 0656 GMT. The franc fell 0.1 percent against the euro to trade at 1.2435 per euro. The coming week looks very quiet on the Swiss macro front with no data releases scheduled.

Source