ZURICH: The Swiss franc fell against the euro and dollar on Monday as investors awaited minutes from the US Federal Reserve later this week for clues to the timing of the central bank's reduction of its stimulus programme. US data, including a drop in weekly jobless claims to a near six-year low, have reinforced expectations in the market that the Fed could start trimming its bond-buying programme as early as September. The dollar crept higher against a basket of currencies early on Monday. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's July 30-31 policy meeting, due to be released on Wednesday, will be a focal point for markets in coming days. Over the next few weeks, currency dealers would be agonizing over the question of when the scaling back of stimulus would begin, analysts at St. Galler Kantonalbank said. "Exchange rates should remain accordingly volatile," they said. The franc fell 0.1 per cent against the dollar to trade at 0.9271 by 0705 GMT compared to the New York close. The franc fell 0.1 per cent against the euro to 1.2353.

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