USD/CHF climbs to over 2-week tops, around mid-0.9700s

• USD/CHF continued gaining traction for the third consecutive session on Thursday.
• Technical buying above 100-DMA remained support amid sustained USD strength.
• The uptick seemed rather unaffected by a cautious mood around the equity markets.

The USD/CHF pair edged higher during the early European session and climbed to over two-week tops, around mid-0.9700s in the last hour.

The pair prolonged this week's positive move and gained some follow-through traction for the third consecutive session on Thursday, extending the momentum further beyond 100-day SMA.

The US dollar remained in demand and continued benefitting from its status as the global reserve currency amid persistent worries over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the latest optimism over the passage of another $484 billion US economic package by the US Senate and some follow-through recovery in crude oil prices turned out to be short-lived.

This was evident from a cautious mood around equity markets, which tends to underpin the Swiss franc's safe-haven demand and might turn act as a key factor that might cap further gains for the pair.

From a technical perspective, the pair has managed to find acceptance above an important confluence resistance, comprising of 100-day SMA and a multi-week-old descending trend-line.

The near-term set-up supports prospects for an extension of the pair's ongoing positive move, possibly towards testing the very important 200-day SMA, around the 0.9800 round-figure mark.

Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the US economic docket – highlighting the release of flash Manufacturing PMI and Initial Weekly Jobless Claims – for a fresh trading impetus.

Technical levels to watch