USD/CHF keeps the red below mid-0.9600s amid global flight to safety

The USD/CHF pair extended overnight pull-back from over 2-month highs and tumbled to a two-week through near the 0.9600 neighborhood, albeit has recovered few pips from session lows. 

The pair came under intense selling pressure on Wednesday amid a global flight to safety, which was seen benefitting the Swiss Franc's safe-haven appeal. Escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and N. Korea seems to have prompted some unwinding trade, especially after the pair's recent weakness over the past two weeks. 

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Moreover, possibilities of some stops being triggered on a sustained break below the 0.9700 handle might have also contributed towards aggravating the fall during the early Asian session. 

The pair now seems to have entered a bearish consolidation phase and held around 30-35 pips away from daily swing lows as traders now look forward to the second-tier US economic releases - quarterly release of Prelim Nonfarm Productivity and Unit Labor Costs, for some fresh impetus.

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Technical levels to watch

Weakness back below 0.9625 level now seems to accelerate the fall towards the 0.9600 handle before the pair eventually drops to its next major support near mid-0.9500s.

On the upside, sustained recovery beyond 0.9650-55 zone could trigger a short-covering rally towards the 0.9700 handle before the pair darts back towards 0.9745 important horizontal resistance.