ZURICH: The Swiss franc tracked the euro slightly higher against the dollar on Wednesday as some investors took profits after bidding up the greenback through the last week.
However, fresh fears that a low participation in the private sector involvement (PSI) in the Greek bond swap plan fuelled fears the country could still trundle towards default, dampening risk appetite and keeping a floor under the safe-haven dollar.
"There are again market concerns about the Greek PSI, not everyone is certain this will go through, so risk aversion is on the rise and risk currencies remain under pressure," said Commerzbank senior forex strategist Antje Praefcke.
The franc remains rangebound against the euro and has traded between 1.203 and 1.21 francs to the dollar since mid-February, with volumes slack as traders balk at betting against the Swiss National Bank's line in the sand.
The Swiss National Bank has repeatedly said it will use unlimited currency interventions to defend the minimum level of 1.20 francs to the euro that it set last September, should the franc look like breaching that level.
On the macroeconomic front, the Swiss economy remains in fairly robust shape, with the unemployment rate unchanged in February at a non-seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed.
"The Swiss economy is finding its floor or at least looks in better shape than was forecast six months ago, meaning there is a dip but not as massive as initially feared," said ZKB analyst David Marmet.
The franc rose 0.1 percent against the dollar compared to the New York close, trading at 0.9174 francs to the dollar at 0800 GMT.
The franc was steady against the euro at 1.2053 francs to the euro.
Later in the day the SNB will announce the findings of an independent auditor's report on financial transactions by members of its governing board.
A clean bill of health from the auditor will help pave the way for SNB ad-interim chief Thomas Jordan to take the central bank's helm permanently.
Former head Philipp Hildebrand stepped aside in January after it emerged his wife had bought dollars weeks before the SNB imposed the cap on the Swiss franc.
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