USD/CHF climbs above 0.9700 on broad USD strength

• US Dollar Index closes in on 100.50 handle.
• Switzerland ran a trade surplus of $4.15 billion in March.
• Risk aversion continues to dominate financial markets on Tuesday.

The USD/CAD pair closed the first day of the week virtually unchanged near 0.9680 but gained traction on broad-based USD strength on Tuesday. As of writing, the pair was up 0.45% on a daily basis at 0.9720.

Earlier in the day, the data published by Switzerland's Federal Customs Office showed that the trade surplus in March widened to $4.15 billion. Nevertheless, this reading was largely ignored by the market participants.

DXY extends rally

Crude oil's collapse at the start of the week seems to be weighing on commodities and global equity indexes. With investors needing cash to cover their losses, the greenback is outperforming its rivals. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the USD's performance against a basket of six major currencies, was last seen adding 0.5% on the day at 100.43.

The data from the US on Tuesday showed that the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Nonmanufacturing Index plummeted to a record low of -96.4 in April from -35.1 in March. Later in the session, Existing Home Sales data from the US will be released as well but market participants are likely to keep a close eye on Wall Street's performance. Minutes ahead of the opening bell, US stock index futures are down around 2%.

Technical levels to watch for