ZURICH, Jan 22 - The Swiss franc firmed against the dollar in early trade on Thursday as the greenback retraced from its recent rally, while dealers awaited a speech by Swiss National Bank chairman Jean-Pierre Roth later in the session. The dollar traded at 1.2363/73 francs versus 1.2422/28 late on Wednesday. The euro was at 1.5667/72 francs from 1.5682/87, near its highest level in over two months.
Roth was due to speak at 1715 GMT and market players were watching closely for any mention of monetary policy. Economists at UBS expect the Swiss National Bank to raise interest rates from current record lows sooner rather than later as the economy recovers on the back of a pickup in exports. "One of the arguments against an SNB rate hike is the latest appreciation of the franc against the dollar," the bank said, however, in its daily markets bulletin. "Some exporters are already very vocally expressing their concerns with the actual dollar/franc exchange rate." However, the current rise in the franc was relatively controlled and was not likely to brake Switzerland's recovery.||