EUR/CHF: Euro / Swiss franc

EUR/CHF is the price of one euro in Swiss francs. If the pair is at 0.9500, one euro costs 0.95 francs. Switzerland sits in the middle of Europe and does a large share of its trade with the euro area, so this is one of the most economically important crosses for both sides. Most of the time it is among the calmer pairs, but it carries a lesson every trader should know: on 15 January 2015 it produced one of the largest one-day moves ever seen in a major currency.

This profile covers who trades EUR/CHF, the central banks behind it, what tends to move it, its character and costs, a pip value example, correlations, history and the risks for beginners.

What EUR/CHF is and who trades it

EUR/CHF is a cross: it does not include the US dollar. The euro is the base currency and the Swiss franc the quote, so a rising EUR/CHF means the euro is strengthening against the franc and a falling one means the franc is strengthening. See currency pairs explained for how crosses work.

Swiss exporters, from pharmaceuticals and machinery to watches, sell heavily into the euro area and need to convert euro revenues into francs. Swiss pension funds and insurers hold euro assets and hedge them. European banks and businesses with Swiss operations trade it too, as do macro funds and retail traders. The Swiss National Bank itself has been one of the biggest participants, through its interventions.

For ESMA's retail leverage rules EUR/CHF counts as a major, because both the euro and the franc are on the list of USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD and CHF. EU retail clients can therefore use up to 30:1; our guide to ESMA leverage limits and negative balance protection explains the rules.

The two economies and central banks behind it

The euro area and the ECB

The European Central Bank sets policy for the euro area at eight meetings a year, with decisions at 14:15 CET (13:15 UK time). It targets 2% inflation over the medium term.

Switzerland and the SNB

The Swiss National Bank is unusual among the major central banks in two ways. First, it holds scheduled monetary policy assessments only four times a year, in March, June, September and December, with the decision usually published in the Zurich morning (around 08:30 UK time). Second, it has made currency intervention a standard part of its toolkit, because for a small, open economy the exchange rate has a large effect on inflation. A strong franc pushes down the price of imports and squeezes exporters, so the SNB has repeatedly bought foreign currency to lean against franc strength.

Switzerland has also tended to have lower inflation than the euro area, which has generally meant lower Swiss interest rates. The SNB kept its key interest rate negative from early 2015 until September 2022. Our guide to central banks and interest rates covers the wider principles.

What typically moves EUR/CHF

The SNB

Nothing moves this pair like the SNB. Rate decisions, statements about willingness to intervene, and published data on its foreign currency holdings all matter. Because the SNB meets only quarterly, an unscheduled announcement is possible when circumstances change, which is exactly what happened in 2015.

Safe-haven flows

The franc has a long reputation as a safe haven: Switzerland's political stability, large current account surpluses and strong public finances attract money in times of stress. Stress centred on Europe, such as the euro area debt crisis, has tended to hit EUR/CHF especially hard, because money leaves the euro for the franc directly.

Rate expectations

The interest rate differential between the ECB and the SNB shifts slowly, but it sets the swap and influences longer-term flows. When euro rates are expected to rise faster than Swiss rates, the euro has tended to benefit, and vice versa.

Data

Swiss CPI, published monthly by the Federal Statistical Office (usually at 08:30 CET, 07:30 UK time), is the most watched Swiss release because it shapes what the SNB can tolerate. Euro area flash HICP, German data and PMIs matter on the euro side. See how economic data moves forex.

Its character: liquidity, sessions and volatility

EUR/CHF is liquid during European hours and quiet outside them. Times below are UK time for most of the year; the UK, Switzerland and the euro area change their clocks on the same dates, but the US does not, so the New York overlap shifts briefly in March and in October/November.

• Asian session (roughly 23:00 to 07:00 UK time): usually very quiet, with wider spreads.
• European morning (about 07:00 to 12:00 UK time): the most active period, as Zurich, Frankfurt and London desks trade and most Swiss and euro area data come out.
• Afternoon and New York overlap (about 13:00 to 16:00 UK time): still active, but EUR/CHF is less tied to US news than the dollar pairs.
• Evening and rollover: quiet, with spreads at their widest around the daily rollover.

The market hours tool shows these in your own time zone, and our guide to forex market hours and sessions explains the overlaps.

On a typical day EUR/CHF has generally moved less than the dollar majors and much less than the yen crosses. Long periods of slow drift are common. The trap is to treat low everyday volatility as low risk: this pair's risk has been concentrated in rare, very large moves driven by central bank decisions. Traders call that kind of profile "tail risk".

Costs of trading EUR/CHF

Spreads are usually somewhat wider than on EUR/USD, and widen noticeably in the Asian session, around the rollover and around SNB announcements. Because the pair's daily range is often small, the spread can be a relatively large fraction of a typical move, which matters for short-term strategies. Our guides to spreads and commissions and why spreads widen explain what to check.

With Swiss rates generally below euro area rates, long EUR/CHF positions have typically been the side that earns, or pays less, overnight, but after the broker's markup the difference can be small or negative. Read your platform's swap table; see swap and overnight financing.

Pip value: a worked example

A pip on EUR/CHF is 0.0001, and profit and loss accrue in Swiss francs. These numbers are illustrative.

• One standard lot is 100,000 euros. A pip is 100,000 times 0.0001 = 10 CHF.
• A mini lot is 1 CHF per pip; a micro lot 0.10 CHF per pip.

On a euro account with EUR/CHF at 0.9500, 10 francs is 10 divided by 0.95, about 10.53 EUR per pip per standard lot. On a dollar account with USD/CHF at 0.8800, 10 francs is about 11.36 USD.

Now a trade. You buy 0.5 lots (50,000 euros) at 0.9500 with a stop at 0.9470, 30 pips away. Each pip is worth 5 CHF, so the stop is 150 CHF, about 158 EUR, before spread and swap. In normal conditions that might be the most you lose. In January 2015, a stop 30 pips away could have been filled hundreds of pips further down, because the price gapped straight through it. That is why the pip value calculator tells you what a stop should cost, but not what it will cost in a gap.

Margin at 30:1 on 50,000 euros is about 1,667 EUR. See leverage and margin and margin call and stop-out.

Correlations with other pairs

• USD/CHF and EUR/USD: EUR/CHF is roughly EUR/USD multiplied by USD/CHF. When the dollar moves broadly, those two often offset each other, leaving EUR/CHF steady.
• EUR/JPY: both have often fallen together in risk-off episodes, because the franc and yen are the two classic haven currencies.
• Gold: the franc and gold have both been treated as havens, and at times have strengthened together, but the link is loose.

Correlations change over time; check them yourself rather than relying on them. Our guide to currency correlation shows how.

Notable history

The euro debt crisis and the franc's surge (2010 to 2011)

As the euro area debt crisis intensified, money poured into the franc and EUR/CHF fell steeply through 2010 and much of 2011. The franc's strength threatened Swiss exporters and pushed Switzerland towards deflation.

The minimum exchange rate (6 September 2011)

On 6 September 2011 the SNB announced a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs per euro and said it would buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities to enforce it. EUR/CHF jumped on the announcement and then spent more than three years trading above the floor, often in a narrow range. Many traders came to regard the floor as permanent.

The removal of the floor (15 January 2015)

On the morning of 15 January 2015, the SNB announced that it was discontinuing the minimum exchange rate and cutting its deposit rate to minus 0.75%. It explained that enforcing the floor would have required interventions of rapidly increasing size. There was almost no warning. EUR/CHF fell from just above 1.20 to around parity within minutes, liquidity vanished, and stop orders were filled far below their levels. Many retail clients lost more than their deposits, and several brokers suffered severe losses; some did not survive. It is the clearest modern example of gap risk and slippage in a major pair.

Episodes like this are why negative balance protection matters. Under ESMA's rules, which took effect in 2018, retail clients of EU-regulated CFD brokers cannot lose more than the funds in their account.

Negative rates and the return to positive (2015 to 2022)

The SNB's key interest rate remained negative from 2015 until September 2022, when it raised rates in response to rising inflation. During that time the SNB continued to intervene at times to limit franc strength.

Trading EUR/CHF as a beginner

• Do not mistake calm for safety. A small everyday range tempts traders to use large sizes and tight stops. Size as if a gap could happen; see position sizing.
• Know the SNB calendar. The four quarterly assessments are the obvious dates, but remember that the SNB has acted outside them. Swiss CPI also matters. Use an economic calendar.
• Understand what a stop-loss can and cannot do. A standard stop becomes a market order when touched; in a gap it is filled at the next available price. Some brokers offer guaranteed stops for a fee. See order types.
• Check your protections. Negative balance protection applies to retail clients in the EU and UK; check what applies where your broker is regulated.
• Keep it in proportion. Most retail CFD accounts lose money, and leverage magnifies losses. Practise on a demo account before using real money.

Frequently asked questions

Why is EUR/CHF usually so calm?

Switzerland and the euro area are closely linked economies with low inflation and similar business cycles, and the SNB has often leaned against large franc moves. On most days that keeps the range narrow compared with dollar or yen pairs.

What happened to EUR/CHF on 15 January 2015?

The Swiss National Bank unexpectedly ended its 1.20 minimum exchange rate, which it had defended since September 2011. The franc surged and EUR/CHF fell to around parity within minutes, gapping through stop orders.

Is the Swiss franc a safe haven?

It has long behaved like one. In periods of global or European stress, money has tended to flow into the franc, pushing it higher against the euro. That is a tendency, not a guarantee.

How much is a pip worth on EUR/CHF?

On a standard lot of 100,000 euros, a pip is 10 Swiss francs. On a euro or dollar account it is usually worth a little more than 10 units, depending on the exchange rate.

How often does the SNB meet?

The SNB holds scheduled monetary policy assessments four times a year, in March, June, September and December. It can and has made announcements between them.