ZURICH: The Swiss franc idled against the euro and the dollar, which softened on Monday after data showed US employers slowed their pace of hiring in July.
US non-farm payrolls rose by 162,000 in July, more than 20,000 below a median market estimate, and a decline in the size of the workforce saw the unemployment rate fall to 7.4 percent, its lowest in more than four years.
That in turn led some banks to push back forecasts for when the Fed would begin tapering its $85 billion-a-month bond buying, although half of the 18 primary dealers still expect it to start next month, a Reuters poll showed.
"With the bulk of US economic indicators coming in short of expectations; the dollar has been in for consolidation at the end of last week," UBS economist Reto Huenerwadel said.
"As such, USDCHF dropped back below the 93.00 level dragging EURCHF lower accordingly," he said.
Closer to home, Swiss inflation and consumer confidence are due on Wednesday, and unemployement data is set for Thursday.
Inflation in Switzerland remains weak, with consumer prices seen flat in July on an annual basis and falling 0.4 percent on the month.
The Swiss National Bank, which capped the franc at 1.20 per euro nearly two years ago, will be watched Wednesday when it releases its foreign-currency reserves for July.
The franc was unchanged against the dollar to trade at 0.9291 by 0551 GMT compared to Friday's New York close.
The franc was also unchanged against the euro at 1.2334 per euro.
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