USD/CHF retreats to levels near 0.8000 on broad-based Dollar weakness

• The US Dollar pares gains and nears 0.8000 amid a brighter market mood
• Risk appetite prevails on Friday following bright US earnings reports and dovish comments from Fed Waller.
• US macroeconomic data seen this week practically discards a July rate cut.

The US Dollar is paring previous gains against the Swiss Franc on Friday, retreating from three-week highs at 0.8060 and approaching the 0.8000 psychological level. The Swiss Franc is holding better than the US Dollar, with most safe havens losing ground as risk appetite returns to the markets.

A slew of upbeat corporate results boosted market sentiment on Thursday, pushing the diminishing hopes of Federal Reserve rate cuts to the background. Investors reacted by buying equities and sending the main Wall Street indexes higher, while US Treasury yields and the US Dollar turned lower.

Market optimism extended through the Asian and European sessions, supported by the dovish comments of Fed Chairman Christopher Waller, who maintained his view on the need to cut interest rates amid higher risks to employment and growth. These comments highlight the division within the Fed committee and keep hopes of further Fed monetary easing alive.

Somewhat earlier, the Dollar had rallied to multi-week highs against several majors, including the CHF, after US Retail Sales and Initial Jobless Claims figures beat expectations. These figures confirmed the resilience of the US economy and provided further reasons for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold for some more time.