Forex - EUR/CHF hits multi-month low after SNB’s Hildebrand resigns

Forexpros – The euro dropped against the Swiss franc on Monday, falling to a three-and-a-half month low, following an announcement by the Swiss National Bank that Chairman Philipp Hildebrand had resigned with immediate effect.

EUR/CHF hit 1.2108 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since September 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2135, shedding 0.11%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2107, the session low and resistance at 1.2161, the session high.

The announcement by the SNB came in the wake of an investigation into a currency trade made by Hildebrand’s wife, just weeks before the central bank imposed a minimum exchange rate on the franc against the euro.

Hildebrand's wife purchased 400,000 Swiss francs worth of U.S. dollars on August 15, three weeks before the SNB put in place measures to stem the appreciation of the Swiss franc.

The SNB said in a statement that Hildebrand would hold a press conference to speak about his decision later in the day.

Elsewhere, the euro remained supported after talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss proposals to tighten coordination of fiscal policy in the single currency bloc concluded earlier.

Merkel said she was hopeful that leaders could sign off on a fiscal pact aimed at resolving the region’s two-year old debt crisis by the end of January or early February.

The Swiss franc remained higher against the U.S. dollar and the yen, with USD/CHF shedding 0.41% to hit 0.9511 and CHF/JPY up 0.24% to hit 80.76.

Also Monday, official data showed that Swiss retail sales rose significantly more-than-expected in November, advancing at an annualized rate of 1.8%, blowing past expectations for a 0.5% gain.