Alongside the euro the franc was stable against the dollar as the single currency clung to the previous session's gains following better-than-expected German sentiment data.

Strong demand for a European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bond issue on Tuesday despite an S&P downgrade of the body had also lifted the euro.

The single currency has bounced off a four-month low against the franc hit on Friday after ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the debt ratings of nine euro zone countries.

That followed a trading controversy which cost former Swiss central bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand his job and pushed the franc-euro level towards the 1.20 cap which Hildebrand had imposed in September.

"Following the SNB headlines and their impact on euro-Swiss earlier last week, market interest and hence the attractiveness of Swiss longs has faded of late," said UBS economist Reto Huenerwadel in a research note.

The franc was little changed against the euro compared to the New York close, trading at 1.2093 francs to the euro 0837 GMT.

The franc was flat against the dollar at 0.9401 francs per dollar.