Switzerland's Ambition for a Weaker Franc Seen as a Forlorn Hope

  • Options traders most bullish on franc versus euro among majors
  • SNB threatens intervention to curb its `overvalued' currency
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Currency markets just won’t cooperate with Thomas Jordan.

When the Swiss National Bank president repeated a warning for buyers to steer clear of the “significantly overvalued” franc last week, the impact of his words was blunted by a European Central Bank pledge to reassess its stimulus plan. Switzerland’s currency reacted by jumping the most since mid-October. Then Friday’s better-than-forecast U.S. jobs report undermined the euro and pushed the franc to a two-month high. Options traders are more bullish on the franc versus the shared currency than any major peer.