ZURICH: The Swiss franc rose against the dollar on Thursday, tracking the euro higher, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel revived hopes that a deal to release emergency aid for indebted Greece was possible on Monday.
The euro had come under pressure on Wednesday after European finance ministers, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund failed to reach a deal to free up new aid for Greece.
Merkel's comments that there was a chance that Greece's lenders will reach a consensus when they meet again next Monday, lifted the euro, although she rejected the idea that big bold actions could solve Europe's crisis overnight.
"Although the most important disagreements appear not to have been solved, negotiations will continue on Monday and sooner or later there will doubtless be a solution," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.
The franc rose 0.1 percent against the dollar compared to the New York close to trade at 0.9372 by 0723 GMT.
Against the euro, the franc was steady at 1.2047.
The franc has traded largely in tandem with the euro since the Swiss National Bank capped it more than a year ago to stave off the threat of recession and deflation.
In an interview with Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger on Thursday, SNB Chairman said the cap remained "absolutely necessary" because of the fragile nature of the global economy.
"The weak global economy and the difficult situation for sectors exposed to international competition clearly show us that it is absolutely necessary to keep the minimum exchange rate," Jordan said.
Weakness in the euro zone has left its mark on Switzerland's economy. While the cap has helped Switzerland's exporters, the strong franc has made their products more expensive abroad and data published earlier this weak showed exports were subdued in October.
Jordan said he expected economic growth to remain weak next year. Switzerland's economy unexpectedly shrank in the second quarter. Data published next Thursday will show how it fared in the third.
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