USD/CHF consolidates in a range below 0.9800 mark

• USD/CHF edged higher for the sixth consecutive session amid recovering global risk sentiment.
• Surging US bond yields underpinned the USD demand and remained supportive of the move up.
• Bulls now seemed to wait for a fresh catalyst and a sustained move beyond the 200-day SMA.

The USD/CHF pair was seen oscillating in a narrow trading band below the 0.9800 round-figure mark through the early European session on Monday.

Following last week's strong positive move of nearly 300 pips, the pair now seems to have entered a bullish consolidation phase and remained well within the striking distance of near two-week tops set on Friday.

The pair traded with a mild positive bias for the sixth consecutive session on Monday and the uptick was sponsored by a combination of supporting factors, including a solid recovery in the global risk sentiment.

a slowdown in the number of deaths from COVID-19 offered a sigh of relief to the traders and the same was evident from strong gains in the US equity futures, which undermined the Swiss franc's safe-haven demand.

The risk-on mood was further reinforced by a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, which extended some support to the US dollar and further contributed to the pair's intraday positive move.

Meanwhile, persistent worries over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic might continue to boot the greenback's status as the global reserve currency and support prospects for additional gains.

Bulls, however, seemed reluctant, rather preferred to wait for a fresh catalyst before positioning for the pair's next leg of an appreciating move amid absent relevant market moving economic releases.

Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying, possibly beyond the very important 200-day SMA hurdle near the 0.9810 region, to confirm the near-term bullish outlook.

Technical levels to watch