The dollar rose against the Swiss franc to a two-week high Wednesday as above-forecast U.S. inflation lifted market bets on a December Federal Reserve rate increase.
FXStreet reported an intraday USD/CHF quote of 0.8286, its highest in two weeks, and said the pair had gained more than 1% in less than two days. Reuters separately reported that the franc fell 0.5% to a two-week low Wednesday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said its seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.4% in October from a month earlier, after a 0.6% increase in September. The core measure, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3% for a third straight month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.3% rise in headline CPI.
For multiple indexes, the BLS did not publish a year-over-year change because the agency lacked October 2025 survey readings after a lapse in appropriations. Without that baseline, the annual comparisons could not be calculated.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool put the probability of a December rate increase at 85.3% after Tuesday’s CPI release. Reuters reported later Wednesday that a 25-basis-point increase was fully priced. The figures reflect market expectations at different times, not a Federal Reserve decision.
Philadelphia Fed President and CEO Anna Paulson said Tuesday that “further gradual tightening seems appropriate.” Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) needed at least two more quarter-point increases. The FOMC voted 10-2 on Oct. 28 to keep its federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4.00%, so the remarks represented the officials’ views rather than a new committee action.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) kept its policy rate at 0% in September. The 3.75-to-4-percentage-point gap between the posted Fed and SNB rates does not by itself explain Wednesday’s currency move.
The FOMC next meets Dec. 8-9. The BLS has scheduled November CPI for Dec. 10, the same date as the SNB’s next policy assessment.
