BRUSSELS (Alliance News) - The Swiss franc lost ground against its major rivals in European deals on Tuesday, amid a gain in European stocks following an upward revision to Eurozone economic growth in the second quarter, and as German exports expanded more-than-expected to a record high in July.
Eurozone economy grew more than initially estimated in the second quarter, data released by Eurostat showed. Gross domestic product advanced 0.4% sequentially after rising 0.5% a quarter ago. The growth rate for the second quarter was revised up from 0.3%.
Data from Destatis showed that German exports expanded more-than-expected to a record high in July, led by a weak euro, suggesting that it would again be the major growth engine in the third quarter.
Exports rose 2.4% month-on-month in July, which was the fastest growth since December 2014. Economists had forecast shipments to grow 1% reversing a 1.1% fall in June.
Sentiment was also aided by a strong rebound in Chinese shares, as Beijing unleashed a slew of support measures, including tax exemption on dividends and plan to introduce a market-wide circuit breaker system to stabilize the market, after weak trade data underscored weakness in the world's second-largest economy.
In other economic news, Swiss unemployment rate held steady in August, in line with expectations, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs revealed.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 3.3% in August, the same rate as in the prior month. The figure was also matched with consensus estimate.
The franc was trading in a positive territory in the previous session.
In European deals, the franc declined to 0.9785 against the dollar, its lowest since September 18, and was down by 0.88% from an early 4-day high of 0.9700. The pair closed Monday's trading at 0.9748. The franc is likely to find support around the 1.00 mark.
The franc reversed from an early high of 1.0873 against the euro, declining to near a 4-week low of 1.0926. If the franc continues slide, it may locate support around the 1.11 region. At yesterday's close, the pair was valued at 1.0889.
The franc was trading lower at 122.60 against the yen, reversing from its previous 2-day high of 123.32. The pair was worth 122.30 when it closed Monday's trading. The franc was seen finding support around the 120.00 area.
Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's gross domestic product was upwardly revised for the second quarter of 2015, but the country's economy still fell into contraction with a 0.3% decline on quarter.
That's an upward revision from -0.4% in last month's preliminary reading, and it beat forecasts for -0.5%.
The franc slipped to near a 3-week low of 1.5058 against the pound, off early high of 1.4844. The pound-franc pair ended Monday's trading at 1.4879. On the downside, the franc is likely to find support surrounding the 1.53 level.
Looking ahead, US labor market conditions index for August and consumer credit for July are set to be published in the New York session.
