USD/CHF: Live Rate, Pip Value and the Safe-Haven Franc
The franc is a defensive currency with a central bank that has intervened before, and the pair moves close to the mirror image of EUR/USD. Both facts change how you size and combine positions in it.
USD/CHF is the US dollar priced in Swiss francs, with a pip of 0.0001 worth 10 francs per standard lot. The franc is a defensive currency that tends to strengthen in stress, and the pair usually moves roughly inversely to EUR/USD - so holding both long is often the same bet twice.
USD/CHF right now
One pip = 0.0001 of price. A standard lot is 100,000 dollars, so pip value = pip size × contract size × lots, converted from CHF at the live rate. Figures assume a USD account; confirm the contract size with your broker.
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Open USDCHF on the live desk (H1) → See what the desk does →The mirror of EUR/USD
Switzerland's economy is closely tied to the euro area, so USD/CHF tends to move roughly opposite to EUR/USD. Long EUR/USD and short USD/CHF is frequently one position expressed twice, with double the risk and none of the diversification. Check your combined exposure before treating them as separate ideas.
What drives it
- Safe-haven flows. The franc strengthens in periods of stress, which pushes this pair down.
- The Swiss National Bank, which has a history of intervening in the currency and of surprising the market when it does.
- The dollar leg, which is the base here, so broad dollar strength lifts the pair.
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Play free, no signup →The 2015 lesson
In January 2015 the SNB abandoned its cap on the franc and the currency repriced violently in minutes. Stops did not fill at their levels, and some retail accounts finished with negative balances. It is the clearest illustration available that a stop is an instruction, not a guarantee, and that position sizing has to assume the occasional catastrophic fill.
Sizing it
A pip is 10 francs per standard lot, converted at the live rate on this page. The range is usually similar to EUR/USD, so the sizing habits transfer - the exposure habits should not.
How far USD/CHF actually moves
Measured on the OANDA feed our charting desk runs on, 2026-01-11 to 2026-09-17 (180 completed daily bars). Recalculated every week.
| Average daily range | 57.0 pips |
|---|---|
| Median day | 48.6 pips |
| Widest day in the window | 180.4 pips |
| Quietest day | 25.2 pips |
| Average as % of price | 0.718% |
| Widest weekday | Wednesday (60.9 pips) |
| Busiest hour | 14:00 UTC, about 16.4 pips in that hour (quietest 23:00, 5.0) |
The median is the middle day and the average is pulled up by a handful of violent ones, so size a stop against the median and expect the average to flatter you. Full table for every instrument, with the method, on average daily range by pair.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pip worth in USD/CHF?
10 Swiss francs per standard lot, converted to your account currency at the current rate.
Why does USD/CHF move opposite to EUR/USD?
The Swiss economy is closely tied to the euro area, so the franc and the euro tend to move together against the dollar, which makes the two pairs near mirror images.
Is the Swiss franc a safe haven?
It tends to strengthen during market stress, which pushes USD/CHF down. That is a tendency, not a guarantee.
What happened to the franc in 2015?
The Swiss National Bank removed its cap against the euro and the franc repriced violently. Stops filled far from their levels, which is why sizing must assume occasional bad fills.
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