THE TAKEAWAY: Swiss unemployment reported at 3.4% in January -> Unemployment at a 2.5-year high -> Franc trading unchanged
The Swiss unemployment rate returned to a 2.5 year high in January. The unemployment rate was reported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs at 3.4% in January, meeting analysts’ expectations. 201,776 people were looking for work in January, 4,878 more than the previous month.
Following a quarter of economic contraction, the Swiss economy expanded 0.6% in the third quarter of 2012. In December, the government predicted 1% growth in 2012, followed by 1.3% rise in GDP in 2013. Signs of stronger economic growth would be Swiss Franc positive.
However, the higher unemployment rate did not affect the Swiss Franc trading against the Euro in Forex markets. EUR/CHF is trading around 1.2280 at the time of this writing, and support could be provided by a 3-week low of 1.2255.
EUR/CHFDaily: February 8, 2013

Chart created by Benjamin Spier using Marketscope 2.0
-- Written by Benjamin Spier, DailyFX Research. Feedback can be sent to instructor@dailyfx.com .