The Swiss franc stole the limelight as it slumped against all its major trading partners. The Swiss franc posted its biggest ever one-day drop against the euro, after the Swiss National Bank sold francs as part of a drive to help the economy, which also included an interest rate cut and a planned bond buying. The markets see this move by the Swiss National Bank as a deliberate ploy to undermine one of the world's safest currencies to help boost growth and they hope other countries will follow. If all countries devalue their currency against each other then it appears gold will be one of the main benefactors, which was evident as it rose by two per cent. Elsewhere, sterling slipped against a broadly stronger dollar.

Sterling

Sterling bounced back against the dollar after a shaky start, and continued to steadily rise against the greenback in late trading, but lost ground against the euro.

US Dollar

The greenback reached two-week lows against the yen as Japanese investors repatriated funds ahead of the fiscal year end. In trading sessions, the dollar rallied on the back of US data, with retail sales surprisingly better than forecasted. However, the dollar gains where short-lived as Federal Reserve data showed US households suffered a record nine per cent drop in wealth and borrowing was curbed in the fourth quarter.

Euro

The euro lost some of its gains against the dollar, on the back of this week's data releases. This included the German Industrial Production, prices at factory gates and producer prices.

Japanese Yen

The Japanese yen is heading for a fourth consecutive weekly decline against the euro, as shares rally on speculation that the global credit crunch crisis is easing. The yen has held up against the Swiss Franc.