The Swiss franc is strengthening against a myriad of currencies on Thursday, buoyed by a decline in import and producer prices. Low unemployment and larger foreign exchange reserves have contributed to the francâs gains as of late. But there is more than just data that is spurring global interest in the country right now: coffee.
According to the Swiss Federal Statistic Office, producer prices dipped 0.2% in October, up from the 0.3% decline in September. The median estimate was 0.2%. The 12-month rate for producer and import prices slipped to -2.4% last month, down from -2% in the previous month.
The francâs recent surge against multiple currency rivals has been driven by global faith in the traditional safe-haven asset. The unemployment rate is at a minuscule 2.2%, foreign exchange reserves rose from $786 million in September to $789 million in October, and new research anticipates a 0.9% jump in real wage growth in 2020 â even when accounting for the 0.2% inflation prediction by the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
Despite Switzerland being impacted by global trade uncertainty, the country has been able to weather the economic storm clouds.
But observers recently turned their heads on the Swiss government proposing the end of stockpiling coffee. The country has stockpiled thousands of tons of goods in the event of an emergency, including coffee. However, officials say that the beverage is low in calories and contains little nutritional value, so the government does not think it should be added to its âessential to lifeâ list.
Today, the Swiss government maintains a coffee supply totaling 15,000 tons, which would be enough to last the country of more than eight million people for three months.
The USD/CHF currency pair tumbled 0.15% to 0.9885, from an opening of 0.9901, at 12:50 GMT on Thursday. The EUR/CHF fell 0.22% to 1.0874, from an opening of 1.0900.
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