2021.09.1611:00:00UTC+00Swiss Franc Drops Amid Risk Appetite

The Swiss franc weakened against its major opponents in the European session on Thursday amid risk appetite, as investors await U.S. retail sales data for more clues on stimulus outlook.

Retail sales are forecast to decline 0.8 percent on month in August, following a 1.1 percent drop in July.

A weak data could back hopes for a delay in tapering of the Fed's bond buying program.

The Fed meeting is in focus as markets seek clues on the central bank's next policy moves amid weak data and virus concerns.

The United Nations said that the global economy is expected to grow at the fastest in nearly five decades this year.

The report highlighted a "possibility of a renewal of multilateralism", pointing to the United States support of a new special drawing rights allocation, global minimum corporate taxation, and a waiver of vaccine-related intellectual property rights.

The franc slipped to 0.9246 against the greenback, its lowest level since July 8. Against the yen, it touched nearly a 5-month low of 118.28. The currency is likely to find support around 0.95 against the greenback and 114.00 against the yen.

The franc depreciated to 2-day lows of 1.0880 versus the euro and 1.2781 versus the pound, off its early highs of 1.0853 and 1.2707, respectively. If the franc slides further, 1.10 and 1.30 are possibly seen as its next support levels versus the euro and the pound, respectively.

Looking ahead, U.S. retail sales for August, business inventories data for July and weekly jobless claims for the week ended September 11 will be featured in the New York session.