The Swiss play their hand16 Jan 2015 18:21
Analysis: Jonty Bloom, business correspondent
"The Swiss National Bank's decision on Thursday to abandon attempts to fix the Swiss Franc against the euro resulted in the "Swissie" rising by 30%. It was probably the largest one-day movement by a major currency since the First World War.
The reasoning for the move were fears that the eurozone will soon start printing money. That is almost certain to cut the value of the euro and boost that of safe haven currencies, such as the franc. In short, the Swiss could no longer afford to hold the line.
The consequences are just beginning to be felt. Alpari, one foreign exchange broker, has gone bust, while another has lost £30m. Yet it is the Swiss who have lost most, as the cost of their exports will now soar.
If you were thinking of treating yourself to a nice Swiss watch for the new year, you might want to check your bank balance first. It is likely to be 15% more expensive than it was on Wednesday."
The gold price will continue rising until the ECB confirm the level of QE in my opinion. There's a lot of hedged forex contracts yet to close losses and this will affect markets for some weeks to come. Hence gold and precious metals becoming more attractive in the short term.