Franc Falls As SNB Chief Jordan Admits Possibility For Further Rate Cut

The Swiss franc declined against most major rivals in European deals on Thursday, after the Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan said that he cannot exclude the possibility of cutting rates into further negative territory, as renewed fears about the eurozone could prop up the currency.

Speaking to Swiss magazine Bilanz, Jordan asserted that the bank went relatively far with negative interest rates and is ready to intervene in the currency market.

"We went quite far to the negative interest and now we monitor the situation closely. We exclude nothing," he told.

Figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed that Swiss consumer prices declined at a stable pace in January, in line with expectations.

The consumer price index fell 1.3 percent year-over-year in January, the same rate of decrease as in December.

The figure was also matched with consensus estimate. Prices have been falling since November 2014.

The currency was higher in early European deals, as investors were attracted to safe-haven assets amid weak global cues. Oil prices slid on inventory data and on concerns about slowing global growth, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned of several risks facing the world's largest economy.

The franc showed mixed performance in Asian deals. While the franc held steady against the euro and the pound, it rose against the greenback. Against the yen, the franc declined.

The franc slipped to a 2-day low of 1.1038 against the euro, off its early near 3-week high of 1.0950. The franc is seen finding support around the 1.12 zone.

The franc eased to 1.4070 against the pound and 0.9762 against the greenback, from its more than 9-month high of 1.3925 and near a 4-month high of 0.9661, respectively. The next possible support for the franc may be located around 0.98 against the greenback and 1.42 against the pound.

On the flip side, the franc bounced off to 115.94 against the Japanese yen, from a 13-month low of 114.47 hit at 7:00 am ET. The pair was worth 116.39 when it ended Wednesday's trading.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended February 6 and Canada new housing price index for December are due to be released in the New York session.

At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will testify on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington DC.

Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels later in the day.