- Sterling hits highest since mid-July on EU's Juncker comments
- Less U.S. money market stress pares demand for greenback
- Norwegian crown's gain fades after Norges Bank hikes rates
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates market action, adds quote)
The dollar fell against most major currencies on Thursday as some central banks refrained from cutting interest rates after the Federal Reserve's second rate decrease this year, boosting the appeal of their currencies versus the greenback.
Sterling rallied in late U.S. trading following comments from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker which raised hopes for a deal for Britain to leave the European Union.
The Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan all kept their policies on hold on Thursday. Norges Bank increased its key policy rate, moving its rates in the opposite direction of Europe and the United States.
These central banks are generally "kind of holding their breath and holding their fire in terms of fully acknowledging that further easing could come down the road but not moving in a proactive way towards additional easing," said Brian Daingerfield, head of G10 FX strategy at NatWest Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.
On Wednesday, the Fed as expected cut interest rates by a quarter point to support a record-long economic expansion but signaled a higher bar for further reductions in borrowing costs amid a favorable economic outlook.
On the other hand, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday cut its global economic growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020. U.S. gross domestic product is expected to rise 2.4% this year, down from a forecast 2.8% growth in May, the group said.
In late U.S. trading, the euro was up 0.19% at $1.1051, while the greenback was 0.42% lower at 107.99 yen.
The dollar shed 0.53% at 0.99235 Swiss franc, and declined 0.32% to C$1.3254.
The greenback fell to a five-week low at 8.9688 Norwegian crown NOK before erasing its earlier losses.
Some analysts also attributed lower demand for the greenback as stress in U.S. money markets has subsided with the Fed injecting over $200 billion in temporary cash into the banking system since Tuesday.
"The shortage of dollars has eased somewhat. With a possible crisis averted, you have people moving back into other currencies," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the British pound posted a late lift after Juncker said "I think we can have a deal" if the Irish border backstop, which the British government wants removed, could be replaced with alternatives.
Following Juncker's comments, sterling GBP=D3 hit $1.256, its highest since July 15 and $88.04 pence per euro, a level not seen since late May.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:06PM (1906 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1051 $1.1029 +0.20% -3.64% +1.1073 +1.1024 Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.9700 108.4400 -0.43% -2.07% +108.4600 +107.8000 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 119.33 119.60 -0.23% -5.46% +119.6600 +118.9800 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9923 0.9973 -0.50% +1.11% +0.9983 +0.9901 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2534 1.2468 +0.53% -1.75% +1.2559 +1.2439 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3255 1.3284 -0.22% -2.80% +1.3307 +1.3242 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6799 0.6827 -0.41% -3.55% +0.6832 +0.6781 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0966 1.1000 -0.31% -2.56% +1.1017 +1.0957 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8816 0.8841 -0.28% -1.87% +0.8893 +0.8805 NZ NZD= 0.6304 0.6320 -0.25% -6.13% +0.6331 +0.6299 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 8.9694 8.9450 +0.27% +3.83% +8.9835 +8.8885 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.9115 9.8652 +0.47% +0.06% +9.9277 +9.8124 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.6857 9.7251 -0.21% +8.05% +9.7388 +9.6739 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.7043 10.7272 -0.21% +4.29% +10.7551 +10.6970 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ EXPLAINER-The Fed has a repo problem. What's that?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
