19 July 2004, 10:42  Swiss franc steady vs dollar, euro ahead of Greenspan

The Swiss franc was little changed against the dollar early in Europe on Monday as markets looked ahead to comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week for clues of the timing and size of future interest rate moves. With little economic domestic news this week, Swiss investors will focus on U.S. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's speech, where he is expected to show that the U.S. economy is solid and free of dangerous price pressures that could force rapid interest-rate rises. The dollar last changed hands at 1.2267/70 francs compared with levels around 1.2256/60 late on Friday in Europe. The euro was trading around 1.5249/53 francs, little changed from levels around 1.5249. Greenspan delivers his semiannual monetary policy report to the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday, likely assuring lawmakers that signs of a slowdown in the rebound are merely a lull and that rates need to gradually rise to keep the U.S. recovery healthy. Expectations for higher interest rates have supported the dollar but as economists' doubts have grown about the Federal Reserve's willingness to raise rates, the appeal of dollar-denominated assets has decreased.|||

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