ZURICH: The Swiss franc held steady against the euro on Monday after a weekend vote in Greece enabled the ruling coalition to approve a tough 2013 budget as traders looked ahead to a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day.
The franc has been trading almost in tandem with the single currency since the Swiss National Bank slapped a 1.20 per euro cap on it more than a year ago to stave off a recession and deflation.
Central bank board member Fritz Zurbruegg on Sunday said the SNB was prepared to take additional measures to protect the Swiss economy should a further slowdown make it necessary, without saying what action the bank might take.
"Worries about Greece still remain, but at least some uncertainties have been removed, so we are unlikely to see a big euro selloff," said Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
The franc was little changed against the dollar, hugging a two-month low struck during the Friday session as the looming US fiscal cliff put a lid on risk appetite, keeping market bulls in check.
With consumer import prices and investment sentiment data due later in the week, investors will be on the lookout for a further softening of the Swiss economy. Economists said that as momentum growth slows, the Swiss National Bank is less likely to shift the boundary of the euro-franc cap lower.
The franc was steady against the dollar compared to Friday's New York close, trading at 0.9487 francs per dollar at 0723 GMT.
The franc was little changed against the euro at 1.2059 francs per euro.
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