Swiss Franc Drops Amid Risk Appetite On Trade Hopes

The Swiss franc weakened against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as optimism over the U.S.-China talks reduced the appeal of safe-haven assets.

"There is a talk scheduled for today at a different level," U.S. President Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio on Thursday and more talks are scheduled ahead of a looming deadline for additional U.S. tariffs.

Beijing and Washington remain "in effective communication" about their continuing trade dispute, China's Ministry of Commerce said and added that China will prioritize discussions about removing latest tariffs unveiled by Trump last week.

A new round of U.S. tariffs on some Chinese goods is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.

Data from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute showed that Switzerland's economy is set to perform moderately during the next few months.

The KOF Economic Barometer remained unchanged at 97 in August. The initial reading for July was 97.1 that was revised to 97. Economists had forecast a score of 95.6.

The franc has been falling against its major counterparts in the Asian session, excepting the euro.

The franc declined to a 4-week low of 0.9896 against the greenback from Thursday's closing value of 0.9866. The currency is likely to find support around the 1.01 level.

The Swiss franc that closed yesterday's trading at 1.0909 against the euro weakened to a 1-week low of 1.0924. The next possible support for the franc is seen around the 1.11 level.

Figures from Destatis showed that Germany's retail sales declined at the fastest pace seen so far this year in July.

Retail turnover decreased a faster-than-expected 2.2 percent month-on-month, reversing a 3 percent rise in June. Sales were forecast to drop 1.4 percent.

The franc slipped to a 2-day low of 1.2059 against the pound, down from yesterday's closing quote of 1.2017. If the franc slides further, 1.25 is possibly seen as its next support level.

Data from the Bank of England showed that UK mortgage approvals rose to a two-year high in July and mortgage lending grew the most in more than three years.

The number of mortgages approved in July rose to 67,306 from 66,506 in June. This was the highest since July 2017 and above the forecast of 66,100.

The Swiss currency depreciated to 107.50 against the yen, a level unseen so far this year. The franc is seen finding support around the 105.00 level.

Data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism showed that Japan's housing starts fell in July after rising in the previous month.

Housing starts decreased 4.1 percent year-on-year in July, after a 0.3 percent rise in June. Economists had forecast the housing starts to fall 5.4 percent.

Looking ahead, U.S. personal income and spending data for July and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for August, as well as Canada GDP data for June and industrial product price index for July will be released in the New York session.