USD/CHF Price Analysis: On the defensive below 200-hour SMA, bearish bias remains

• USD/CHF failed near 200-hour SMA and witnessed some intraday selling on Wednesday.
• The set-up favours bearish traders and supports prospects for a further near-term slide.
• Sustained weakness below the 0.9475-65 region needed to confirm the bearish outlook.

The USD/CHF pair struggled to capitalize on the overnight goodish intraday bounce of around 50 pips and witnessed a modest pullback on Wednesday. Bulls failed to lift the pair further beyond the 200-hour SMA stiff resistance, which should now act as a pivotal point for short-term traders.

Meanwhile, technical indicators on the daily chart maintained their bearish bias and have been struggling to gain any meaningful traction on hourly charts. The set-up seems firmly tilted in favour of bearish traders and supports prospects for an extension of the pair's near-term bearish trend.

That said, it will be prudent to wait for a convincing break below the 0.9475-65 horizontal zone before positioning for any further near-term depreciating move. The pair might then accelerate the fall further towards the 0.9400 mark en-route the recent swing lows, around the 0.9375 region.

Alternatively, a sustained strength beyond the 200-hour SMA, around the 0.9510-15 region, might trigger a short-covering move. This, in turn, should assist the pair to surpass an intermediate resistance near mid-0.9500s and aim towards reclaiming the 0.9600 round-figure mark.

USD/CHF 1-hourly chart

Technical levels to watch