Safe Heaven

Traditionally, the Swiss franc is seen as a “safe-haven” currency and is often bid up during times of global, political, and economic instability or uncertainty. But its luster in that regard seems to have faded in recent times.

“We have not seen a lot of sustained safe-haven buying, despite the July London bombings, and what did occur was fairly swiftly unwound,” Averall says.

“The Swiss franc tends to be supported in an environment of risk aversion,” says Naomi Fink, senior currencyanalyst at BNP Paribas. “That is not the case now — we are seeing quite a bit of risk tolerance.”