USD/CHF tumbles below 0.9800 to test key support

• Spot heads toward the lowest close since Dec 1. 
• CHF among the top performs on Thursday. 
• USD/CHF down 4.10% over the year. 

The USD/CHF pair is consolidating important losses on Thursday. While the US dollar dropped across the board, the Swiss franc gained momentum amid risk aversion in Europe. The US Dollar Index fell below 93.00 to the lowest since November 27 while the Swiss hit weekly highs versus its European rivals. 

Bearish scenario but... 

USD/CHF is having today the worst date since December 1. Yesterday it closed below the 20-day moving average and today it accelerated to the downside after falling under 0.9840 and then below 0.9800.

It bottomed at 0.9770 and then rebounded modestly to the upside. Near the end of the session, it was trading around 0.9780, down 70 pips for the day. To the downside, below the immediate support at 0.9770 (Dec 28 low), the pair has a key support area between 0.9730/50, a break lower would expose 0.9700/05 (Oct 13 low) and 0.9660/65 (Sep 13 high). 

On the upside, the pair needs to recover above 0.9840/50 to remove the short-term bearish pressure. On top, the key resistance is a downtrend line from November highs that stands near 0.9900: a consolidation significantly above could clear the way to more gains.