Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc Rate Hits 8-Month Lows as Fear Dominates

April 7, 2025 - Written by David Woodsmith

STORY LINK Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc Rate Hits 8-Month Lows as Fear Dominates

Risk appetite has slumped again on Monday with a fresh flood into defensive assets. The Japanese Yen and Swiss franc have strengthened further while the Pound Sterling has lost ground.

ING commented; “With no sign yet of a U-turn from Trump on tariffs, equity markets remain under heavy pressure. For FX, the flight to safety seeks those liquid currencies with large current account surpluses, notably the yen and the Swiss franc.”

The Pound to Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate slumped to 6-month lows around 186.25 before a tentative recovery to 188.00.

The Pound to Swiss franc (GBP/CHF) exchange rate also remained under pressure with a slump to 8-month lows near 1.0900 before a slight recovery to 1.0965.

Risk appetite deteriorated sharply over the second half of last week after President Trump announced a 10% tariff on imports from nearly all trading partners.

These tariffs have come into effect while punitive levies were also imposed on countries that run substantial trade surpluses with the US. These tariffs are due to come into effect on April 9th.

There had been some hopes of reassuring comments during the weekend which would allow some recovery in equity markets.

US Administration rhetoric, however, was uncompromising and contradictory. President Trump commented; "I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something."

Commerce Secretary Lutnick also insisted that the Administration is in for the long haul.

MUFG commented; “The comments have dampened hopes for now that there could be a quick climb down on “reciprocal tariff” plans from the Trump administration to help restore stability to financial markets. The latest developments firmly suggest that the trade hawks are now in control in the White House.”

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TAGS: Japanese Yen Forecasts Pound Swiss Franc Forecasts