USD/CHF posts modest gains to near 0.9000 in thin holiday trading

• USD/CHF trades with mild gains near 0.8990 in Tuesday's European session. 
• Fed indicated fewer rate reductions ahead, supporting the US Dollar. 
• Geopolitical risks might boost the safe-haven currency like the CHF and cap the upside for the pair. 

The USD/CHF pair posts modest gains to around 0.8990 during the early European session on Tuesday. The prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates continues to underpin the Greenback for the time being. Trading volumes are likely to thin out as the year-end approaches. 

The Federal Reserve (Fed) projections outlined a slower pace of rate cuts than traders had expected, supporting the US Dollar (USD). The Summary of Economic Projections, or 'dot-plot', indicated a half-percentage point rate cut in 2025, compared with a full percentage cut projected in September.

Data released by the Census Bureau on Monday showed that the US New Home Sales jumped 5.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000 in November. The reading for October was revised higher to a rate of 627,000 units from the previously reported 610,000 units. Additionally, Durable Goods Orders in the US declined by 1.1% in November to $285.1 billion, followed by a 0.8% increase reported in October, weaker than the expectations of a 0.4% decline. 

On the Swiss front, traders will closely monitor the development surrounding escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Ant signs of geopolitical risks could boost the safe-haven currency like the Swiss Franc (CHF) and act as a headwind for USD/CHF. Israel's defence minister has confirmed that Israel killed Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and warned that the military would also "decapitate" the leadership of Yemen's Houthi rebels, per BBC. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said some progress had been made towards agreeing a ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas, but he could not give a timeline for when a deal would be reached.