Swiss Franc Strengthens to Parity With Dollar on Recovery Signs

The Swiss franc strengthened to parity with the dollar for the first time in 19 months on
speculation the economic recovery is gathering pace.

The franc also rose to the highest level in a week against the euro after Swiss National Bank President Jean-Pierre Roth said yesterday that central banks may “soon” start withdrawing unconventional measures as the global economy gains strength.
A report in two days will probably show the nation’s leading economic indicators climbed this month to the most since December 2007, according to the median forecast of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

"The domestic economy has weathered the storm relatively well and if you add the fact that people see the franc as a
haven, these are powerful forces,” said Peter Rosenstreich,chief market analyst in Geneva at ACM Advanced Currency Markets, which handles about $150 billion of foreign-exchange trades a month. “The trend is clearly set for dollar weakness.”

The franc appreciated as much as 0.9 percent against the U.S. currency to 99.94 centimes, the strongest level since April 17, 2008, and was at 1.0011 per dollar as of 2:04 p.m. in Zurich. It was little changed at 1.5092 against the euro, after strengthening to 1.5083.