USD/CHF price today

The US dollar to Swiss franc price (USD/CHF) shows how many Swiss francs one US dollar is worth. This pair is one of the seven major currency pairs of the forex market, and in it the franc plays the role of one of the most trusted safe-haven currencies in the world. On this page you can see the live USD/CHF rate, the candlestick chart and its technical events, and further down you will learn about the franc's characteristics, the Swiss National Bank's distinctive policies, the pip value and this pair's relationship with EUR/USD.

What is the USD/CHF pair and why is it called the "Swissy"?

In USD/CHF, the US dollar is the base currency and the Swiss franc is the quote currency; a reading of 0.9000 means each dollar equals 0.9 francs. A rising number means the dollar has strengthened, and a falling number means the franc has become stronger. The code CHF comes from the Latin name of the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica), and traders have nicknamed this pair the "Swissy".

Switzerland is a small but wealthy economy with usually low inflation, a current account surplus, low government debt and a long-established banking system. These features, along with a long history of political neutrality, have made the franc a destination for capital in times of crisis. See the Toman rate of the franc in the Iranian market on the Swiss franc price page; this rate comes from domestic supply and demand and is not the same as the global USD/CHF.

Factors affecting the dollar to franc price

1. The franc as a safe-haven currency

When war, a banking crisis or a financial market crash occurs, demand for the franc rises. On such days USD/CHF behaves in a complex way, because the dollar is also a safe-haven currency; the final outcome depends on where the crisis started and which of the two capital flows toward.

2. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and currency intervention

Unlike most central banks, the Swiss National Bank does not work only with interest rates and considers direct buying and selling of currency in the market one of its official tools. An overly strong franc hurts Swiss exports and pushes inflation below target; for this reason the SNB has repeatedly entered the market in past years to weaken the franc, and it kept negative interest rates from 2015 to 2022. The bank usually holds monetary policy meetings only four times a year, and this small number makes each meeting more important. Compare Swiss and US interest rates on the global interest rates page.

3. US monetary policy

The other side of this pair is the dollar; Federal Reserve decisions, the non-farm payrolls (NFP) report and US inflation usually determine the daily moves of USD/CHF more than Swiss data.

4. Swiss economic data

Monthly Swiss inflation, the KOF leading indicator, unemployment figures and quarterly GDP are among the most important data. See their release times and SNB meeting dates in the Teagle economic calendar .

The lesson of January 2015: the franc shock

In 2011, at the height of the European debt crisis, the franc strengthened so much that the Swiss National Bank set a floor of 1.20 for the euro to franc rate and pledged to buy as much currency as needed to defend it. On 15 January 2015 the bank removed the floor without prior warning. The franc strengthened in an unprecedented way within minutes, liquidity almost vanished and many traders faced stop losses that were executed far away from their levels; several brokerages also ran into serious trouble because of client losses.

The lesson of this event is clear for every trader: in extreme conditions a stop loss may not be executed exactly at the set price, and high leverage can create losses larger than expected. That is why some brokers offer "negative balance protection"; check this feature when comparing brokers in the forex broker reviews .

Pip value in USD/CHF

In USD/CHF each pip equals 0.0001. Since the quote currency is the franc, the pip value is first calculated in francs and must be divided by the USD/CHF rate to convert it to dollars:

When the USD/CHF rate is below 1, each franc is worth more than one dollar and the dollar value of a pip becomes slightly more than $10. The "pip value" tool on this page and the trading calculator do this calculation with the live rate.

Best time to trade USD/CHF

Zurich is part of the European session; so USD/CHF activity picks up as European markets open and peaks during the London–New York overlap: roughly 15:30 to 19:30 Tehran time during European summer and 16:30 to 20:30 in winter. In the Asian session this pair is usually low-volume and has wider spreads. See the exact hours in global market hours .

In technical analysis, USD/CHF usually behaves like a mirror image of EUR/USD; many traders compare the key levels of these two symbols to confirm a level break. See the recent indicator signals in the "Technical events" section of this page.

USD/CHF correlation with other symbols

• Euro to dollar (EUR/USD): Negative and usually strong correlation; because the Swiss economy is tied to the eurozone, the franc often moves in the same direction as the euro, and USD/CHF is almost a mirror of EUR/USD. Buying EUR/USD and USD/CHF at the same time effectively offsets part of each other's risk, and selling EUR/USD together with buying USD/CHF doubles the risk.
• Euro to franc (EUR/CHF): The best gauge of the franc's own strength without the dollar's effect, and the very rate the SNB pays the most attention to.
• Gold ounce: Gold and the franc are both safe havens and in some crisis periods see demand at the same time.

Risk management tips for trading USD/CHF

• Risk of unexpected events: The SNB's track record shows that surprise decisions are possible; keep leverage low and do not put your entire account on one currency pair.
• Know the correlations: Many beginners trade EUR/USD and USD/CHF at the same time without realizing they have actually opened the same trade twice.
• Spreads during low-volume hours: At night and at the Monday market open, this pair's spread can widen noticeably.

See other currency pairs in the list of forex market symbols . The information on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell; the displayed rate comes from market data sources and may differ slightly from your broker's price. Trading with leverage carries high risk and you may lose part or all of your capital.