On Monday the euro rose more than 2% against the Swiss franc, recovering from lows hit in the wake of the election victory for the anti-austerity Syriza party in Greece.
EUR/CHF was last up 2.22% to 1.0047, after falling as low as 0.9788 overnight, although the euro is still approximately 16% lower against the franc since the SNB’S policy change.
Since the Swiss National Bank scrapped the 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap it imposed in September 2011 on January 15, the common currency has been floating freely against the Swiss franc.
The action followed as prospects of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank increased pressure on the Swiss franc.
The euro’s gains against the franc came amid speculation that Switzerland’s central bank has intervened in the market since removing the currency cap on the franc.
Figures on Monday showed that sight deposits at the SNB rose almost 8% last week. It was the largest increase since July 2013, indicating that the bank has been purchasing foreign currency in the market.
The shared currency stabilized as markets shrugged off concerns over Syriza’s pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion international bailout and reverse many of the austerity measures imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Sentiment on the euro continued to be supported after the ECB unveiled a €1.2 trillion asset purchase program last week, aimed at combating slowing growth and inflation in the euro area.
The cable EUR/USD was up 0.58% to 1.1269, recovering from overnight lows of 1.1099, the weakest since September 2003.
EUR/JPY advanced 1.17% to 133.52 off the 17-month low of 130.16 struck overnight.
